{"id":37488,"date":"2023-01-15T16:32:26","date_gmt":"2023-01-15T16:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/a-billion-dollar-learning-crisis"},"modified":"2023-01-15T17:22:55","modified_gmt":"2023-01-15T17:22:55","slug":"a-billion-dollar-learning-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/a-billion-dollar-learning-crisis","title":{"rendered":"A Billion Dollar Learning Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION has failed 2,5 million Namibians by not addressing the systemic challenges it faces, challenges it is well aware of.<\/p>\n

The education sector was allocated N$14,1 billion, which accounts for about 20% of the national budget for the 2022\/23 financial year.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, this budget saw the lowest pass rate in history: A distressing 78% of pupils who sat for their National Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary Level (NSSCO) failed to achieve the 25 points required for university admission or to progress to the advanced subsidiary level.<\/p>\n

Once again, we are set to add to the cycle of unemployment and poverty rather than help alleviate it by effectively equipping our youth with tools that can help them unlock the future.<\/p>\n

Most of the ministry’s N$14,1 billion budget comprises salaries for civil servants in the education sector, many of whom feel they are underpaid.<\/p>\n

When he tabled the budget, finance minister Iipumbu Shiimi said the allocation of funds reflected the government’s commitment to continuously invest in the youth of Namibia.<\/p>\n

It underscored the government’s belief in human capital development as the central driver for sustainable development and poverty reduction over time, he said.<\/p>\n

However, the distribution of resources to educational institutions will continue to go to waste until the state funds the sector sufficiently.<\/p>\n

Many pupils don’t have textbooks, classrooms are overflowing, and teachers are underpaid. The challenges experienced in the education sector are common knowledge.<\/p>\n

What we need now is for all educational partners to take collective responsibility for the failure rate, as well as better accountability through an independent monitoring and evaluation system.<\/p>\n

Namibian taxpayers need to hold the government to account on how state resources are spent.<\/p>\n

QUALITY EDUCATION<\/p>\n

Education is a fundamental human right protected by the Constitution of Namibia. In 2015, Namibia pledged to do its best to reach the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.<\/p>\n

However, SDG 4 \u2013 quality education \u2013 looks unlikely to be attained given the current trajectory of Namibia’s education sector.<\/p>\n

After attending the Transforming Education Summit in New York and hosting the second National Education Conference, Namibia recorded its lowest ever pass rate.<\/p>\n

This begs the question of how the outcomes of these conferences will help shape the country’s education sector.<\/p>\n

Speaking on issues only when it’s popular to do so is one of the reasons Namibia has been unable to address the challenges we face.<\/p>\n

The historic failure rate experienced during the 2022 academic year is an accumulation of the country’s failure to address the systemic challenges.<\/p>\n

Over the past few years, more than 10 000 pupils a year have failed to make it past the first exit point of their educational careers or to qualify for university admission.<\/p>\n

Apart from the considerable impact of Covid-19 on education, one of the main reasons for the failure rate remains systemic problems across the entire education sector.<\/p>\n

ACCOUNTABILITY<\/p>\n

Success has many fathers but failure is an orphan: While no one seems to be taking accountability for the results, the blame game is in full swing.<\/p>\n

The ministry blames school management and teachers for allegedly failing to ensure that teaching occurs in classrooms; teachers blame the curriculum for being too intensive and pupils for failing to show more interest and commitment to their work.<\/p>\n

The blame game will, however, not resolve the failure rate.<\/p>\n

The ministry has defended the new curriculum, saying it is benchmarked internationally, aligns with Namibian aspirations, and was implemented to ensure that pupils become global citizens.<\/p>\n

I fully agree with the ministry. It is hypocritical to see stakeholders blame the new curriculum when five years ago everyone was calling for an improved and updated education curriculum that would better equip pupils to become international players.<\/p>\n

The new curriculum, although content dense, prepares pupils to compete internationally.<\/p>\n

What the ministry can do better is create awareness of the new curriculum to ensure everyone understands what is required of them, and also to adjust the academic year to cater for this dense curriculum to be comprehensively taught.<\/p>\n

Tangible solutions can only be found when all partners come together.<\/p>\n

To the 78% of pupils failed by the system, \u201cfailure in the classroom is not failure in life\u201d.<\/p>\n

Wishing all the matriculants the strength and wisdom they need to pursue their dreams, while we find ways to address the academic turmoil we face.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Namibia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION has failed 2,5 million Namibians by not addressing the systemic challenges it faces, challenges it is well aware of. The education sector was allocated N$14,1 billion, which accounts for about 20% of the national budget for the 2022\/23 financial year. Nonetheless, this budget saw the lowest pass rate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":37487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[234,236,233],"class_list":["post-37488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-namibia","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\nA Billion Dollar Learning Crisis - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION has failed 2,5 million Namibians by not addressing the systemic challenges it faces, challenge ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/a-billion-dollar-learning-crisis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Billion Dollar Learning Crisis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION has failed 2,5 million Namibians by not addressing the systemic challenges it faces, challenge ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/a-billion-dollar-learning-crisis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Namibia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-15T16:32:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-15T17:22:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/01\/postQueueImg_1673787765.90.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"410\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"385\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/a-billion-dollar-learning-crisis#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/a-billion-dollar-learning-crisis\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"A Billion Dollar Learning Crisis\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-15T16:32:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-15T17:22:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/a-billion-dollar-learning-crisis\"},\"wordCount\":732,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/a-billion-dollar-learning-crisis#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2023\/01\/postQueueImg_1673787765.90.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"africa press\",\"Africa Press-Namibia\",\"namibia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"files\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/a-billion-dollar-learning-crisis#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/a-billion-dollar-learning-crisis\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/a-billion-dollar-learning-crisis\",\"name\":\"A Billion Dollar Learning Crisis - 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