Govt, Unicef collaborating on school internet roll-out

Namibia is progressing in a quest to promote internet access in schools nationwide.This according to the executive director of the education ministry Sanet Steenkamp, who noted that the country is collaborating with the United Nations Children&#039;s Fund (Unicef) on the matter.Unicef&#039;s Giga Project is a global initiative that aims to give children everywhere access to the Internet. The first Giga connection forum came to an end on Wednesday.Steenkamp said Namibia currently has 2 002 schools across the country, with at least 217 not connected to the national power grid and therefore without internet access.Since Namibia decided to participate in the Giga initiative in 2022, the first phase is progressing with the mapping of schools. So far, 1 946 schools have been registered, she elaborated.The mapping of schools is necessary to determine how many of Namibia&#039;s 974 207 learners and around 31 000 teachers still do not have access to the internet, and to remove confusion between what has been reported and the real situation on the ground.Strong supportMeanwhile, progress has also been made with the roll-out of a special application that immediately provides information about schools&#039; internet connection.The information can be found on maps.giga.global. On Wednesday, it showed that 265 Namibian schools were connected with an average download speed of 35.03 megabits per second (Mbps) for the week of 1 to 7 July.Steenkamp said Namibia enjoys strong political support for the Giga initiative and boasts a solid legal framework to carry out the necessary interventions. She added that a committee has already been established to facilitate cooperation between her ministry and its information and finance counterparts. "After the mapping of all the country&#039;s schools, an analysis will be done of the necessary financial resources to connect the schools to the internet before the finance ministry determines where the money will come from," Aune Victor, Unicef&#039;s education specialist, said.Other challengesOther challenges Steenkamp highlighted include Namibia’s small, widely dispersed population, the long distances between schools, old infrastructure that hinders compatibility and outdated services that do not allow for modern accessibility."We need to understand the real costs, the financial costs involved, so that our own resources can be complemented by international financing to optimise our budget allocation for these educational interventions. We can&#039;t do it alone," she said. She added: "These children have dreams and potential. It is our job, as decision-makers and implementers, to ensure that we give them that choice, that voice and that opportunity.” – augetto@nmh-hub.com.na

Govt, Unicef collaborating on school internet roll-out

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-09

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Govt, Unicef collaborating on school internet roll-out

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-09

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