2018 tests showed learners would fail in 2022

Namibia has been sitting on a ticking time bomb since 2018 when the last standardised achievements tests (SATs) revealed that 40% of the cohort who sat for the 2022 Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate (NSSC) ordinary and higher level examinations were below basic competencies.The SATs have also been suspended in the meantime because of a lack of funding, according to Edda Bohn, the deputy executive director in the education ministry.Bohn also highlighted that while learner population has grown tremendously, government funding has not grown proportionally to this demand.“What we have observed is that our learner numbers have grown, but our teacher number has grown [by] only half of that rate. We did a bottom-up costing under the late Abraham Iyambo and it already exceeded the budget and it considered the ideal resources for the learners. And that has an inflationary multiplier in itself; it would give you an indication that our budget is at about a quarter of what it should be,” she said.Long time comingMeanwhile, with regards the 2018 findings, the supplementary teaching training of teachers offered on a cascade model did not manage to address the situation as more than 80% of learners failed dismally in 2022.“They came already from primary with a backlog. When they came into secondary, they were now grade nine - that was the time Covid-19 broke out and the lockdown [was implemented]. They had the biggest loss of contact teaching and learning time. They had, unfortunately, the worst share of it all.“We responded to the SAT with a teacher training, but it was selected teachers called in and again it did not reach all,” she said.Bohn added that teaching materials were then developed to support educators and they also analysed disaggregated reports from schools; however, the rollout of the teaching response was in a limited fashion.“From the policy perspective, we have made strides on paper, but then we still faced dilapidated structures and overcrowded classrooms. The demand for education has risen severely because of the increased birth rate. I just want to emphasise that we have not managed with that equally fast roll-out and intensive care for our learners,” she said.Grossly under-resourcedIn the meantime, government has sent a total of N$183.6 million to all schools in the country, of which N$200 is allocated per primary learner and N$300 per secondary learner per month.This breaks down to an average of a mere N$19 per child per month, and it is impossible to cover the necessary basic stationery.“That is really a minute amount. We are fully aware of that. It caters only for that small gap in consumables that schools needs from day to day. It is... grossly under-resourced because with that, you can buy three exercise books and if that is writing, your mother tongue and numeracy, then you would have covered that, but you would be short of other supplies.”Meanwhile, the Namibia Education Public Expenditure Report of 2017 found that of the average grade six teachers surveyed in 15 southern and eastern African countries, Namibian teachers scored the lowest rate at about 40%.According to the 2022 National Education Conference recommendations, the learner-teacher ratio has jumped by 7% over the last four years and funding for education has also dropped slightly during this period.It was also mentioned that the biggest chunk of the budget goes to wages and is expected to have a determinant impact on education outcomes.“The development budget remains significantly underfunded relative to other expenditure lines and stands at 2.1% compared to 7.1% in 2020/21. Low public spending on the development budget negatively impacts on the quality of and adequacy of school infrastructure. Currently, the gap is estimated at 4 000 classrooms, about N$2.4 billion,” the recommendations read.It also stated that in 2017, a total of 125 394 learners were repeating a grade, which is more than the entire populations of Okahandja, Walvis Bay and Otjiwarongo combined.It also found that it is especially boys who leave school, while the majority of grade eight learners leave school in the Hardap Region. In Omaheke and Kunene, most grade 10 learners drop out.jemima@namibiansun.com

2018 tests showed learners would fail in 2022

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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2018 tests showed learners would fail in 2022

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-03

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