Learners crumble under 'free education'
Government underfunding shifts pressure to parents
With limited funding and a perceived policy mismatch, what remains of Namibian education is at risk of being washed away like a sand castle at high tide.
Access to quality education remains a pipe dream as 1 726 public schools are expected to share the annual budget of N$183.6 million - which translates to a mere N$106 376.65 per school on average, hardly enough to cover each learner.
Education stakeholders have said that, in fact, the average allocation per learner for many schools is about N$100 for the entire year. Yet in Windhoek, quotations for stationery lists shared by schools stand at an average of N$1 200 per learner, a cost which will naturally escalate throughout the year as parents restock when their children run out of supplies.
A centralised education grant disbursement regime of the education ministry - through which funds are directly paid to schools - has taken effect, with a total of N$183.6 million already paid by 8 December 2022 for the 2023 academic year.
However, a measly 58% of these funds is earmarked for learning and development material for the year and should cover required textbooks, stationery and other development resources.
Yesterday, Namibia National Teachers Union (Nantu) secretary-general Loide Shaanika said her union’s own investigations have found that at some schools they visited, up to 50 learners shared one textbook. She was speaking on The Evening Review show.
According to education ministry executive director Sanet Steenkamp, it is expected that the new system of direct payments will yield better results and that it will also improve governance at schools.
In the meantime, the system is hackled by a staggering failure rate of just over 85% amid crisis proportions of classroom shortages, ill-equipped teaching staff and a minister – Anna Nghipondoka - described by many as out of her depth.
Painful transition
Since the abolishment of school fees and the introduction of the so-called free education system, many urban-based public schools have struggled to keep their heads above water and are unable to fully commit to quality education.
“The reality is that they are used to receiving scheduled payments from parents and that was used for extracurricular activities, especially for sports and for coaches,” Steenkamp said.
According to information from the ministry, as part of its grant disbursement regime, the highest amount - of N$25 723 800 - was paid to the Ohangwena Region for 245 schools, followed by Omusati which received N$23 541 400 for 275 schools.
According to the 15th School Day report released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), Ohangwena had about 117 293 learners in 2022.
The third highest amount - of N$20 466 800 - was paid to Khomas for 84 schools, followed by Oshikoto, which received N$16 620 900 for 203 schools.
Meanwhile, the lowest amount of N$6 million was paid to Omaheke for 43 schools.
This means in Ohangwena, each school is expected to have received an average of N$104 995, of which N$60 867 is earmarked for learning and development materials. However, it is anticipated that that amount may vary as funding is based on a formula that caters to the number of learners.
Steenkamp said they envisioned to allocate at least N$1 000 per learner per annum, however, the national financial situation rendered this impossible. They have therefore sustained the yearly N$200 allocation for universal primary education and N$300 for universal secondary education. Resource schools receive three times as much.
In addition, the ministry still continues to support community hostels around the country, for which they pay N$22 per day per child.
Nantu spits fire
At a press conference yesterday, Nantu acting president Daniel Humbu challenged government to publicly admit that it was repeatedly warned not to introduce the now controversial new education curriculum.
The union has also threatened to recall its members if schools fail to correspond to ‘Operation Nantu on Staffing Norms’, which entails that teachers will not accept a class beyond the prescribed number of learners.
“Some schools have more than 2 000 learners with one principal, but a directorate of 200 schools has many directors and senior officers. Our principals are expected to teach 25% of the teaching load and should also effectively manage, control and supervise schools. This is exploitation.”
Dire straits
According to Humbu, the advanced subsidiary (AS) curriculum was implemented hastily without proper planning and support, and government has dismally failed to provide adequate financial resources to support its implementation.
“There are no adequate teaching and learning resources at schools for the new curriculum and no proper training was provided to teachers ahead of implementation.
“In fact, the majority of teachers were not consulted during the review process in 2015. Government has planned to fail,” he said.
He added that to date, government has failed to make provision to train educators responsible for teaching AS level, and instead the new curriculum has turned teachers into administrators with 80% of teaching time spent on filing as opposed to lesson planning and research.
Education stakeholders have said that, in fact, the average allocation per learner for many schools is about N$100 for the entire year. Yet in Windhoek, quotations for stationery lists shared by schools stand at an average of N$1 200 per learner, a cost which will naturally escalate throughout the year as parents restock when their children run out of supplies.
A centralised education grant disbursement regime of the education ministry - through which funds are directly paid to schools - has taken effect, with a total of N$183.6 million already paid by 8 December 2022 for the 2023 academic year.
However, a measly 58% of these funds is earmarked for learning and development material for the year and should cover required textbooks, stationery and other development resources.
Yesterday, Namibia National Teachers Union (Nantu) secretary-general Loide Shaanika said her union’s own investigations have found that at some schools they visited, up to 50 learners shared one textbook. She was speaking on The Evening Review show.
According to education ministry executive director Sanet Steenkamp, it is expected that the new system of direct payments will yield better results and that it will also improve governance at schools.
In the meantime, the system is hackled by a staggering failure rate of just over 85% amid crisis proportions of classroom shortages, ill-equipped teaching staff and a minister – Anna Nghipondoka - described by many as out of her depth.
Painful transition
Since the abolishment of school fees and the introduction of the so-called free education system, many urban-based public schools have struggled to keep their heads above water and are unable to fully commit to quality education.
“The reality is that they are used to receiving scheduled payments from parents and that was used for extracurricular activities, especially for sports and for coaches,” Steenkamp said.
According to information from the ministry, as part of its grant disbursement regime, the highest amount - of N$25 723 800 - was paid to the Ohangwena Region for 245 schools, followed by Omusati which received N$23 541 400 for 275 schools.
According to the 15th School Day report released by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), Ohangwena had about 117 293 learners in 2022.
The third highest amount - of N$20 466 800 - was paid to Khomas for 84 schools, followed by Oshikoto, which received N$16 620 900 for 203 schools.
Meanwhile, the lowest amount of N$6 million was paid to Omaheke for 43 schools.
This means in Ohangwena, each school is expected to have received an average of N$104 995, of which N$60 867 is earmarked for learning and development materials. However, it is anticipated that that amount may vary as funding is based on a formula that caters to the number of learners.
Steenkamp said they envisioned to allocate at least N$1 000 per learner per annum, however, the national financial situation rendered this impossible. They have therefore sustained the yearly N$200 allocation for universal primary education and N$300 for universal secondary education. Resource schools receive three times as much.
In addition, the ministry still continues to support community hostels around the country, for which they pay N$22 per day per child.
Nantu spits fire
At a press conference yesterday, Nantu acting president Daniel Humbu challenged government to publicly admit that it was repeatedly warned not to introduce the now controversial new education curriculum.
The union has also threatened to recall its members if schools fail to correspond to ‘Operation Nantu on Staffing Norms’, which entails that teachers will not accept a class beyond the prescribed number of learners.
“Some schools have more than 2 000 learners with one principal, but a directorate of 200 schools has many directors and senior officers. Our principals are expected to teach 25% of the teaching load and should also effectively manage, control and supervise schools. This is exploitation.”
Dire straits
According to Humbu, the advanced subsidiary (AS) curriculum was implemented hastily without proper planning and support, and government has dismally failed to provide adequate financial resources to support its implementation.
“There are no adequate teaching and learning resources at schools for the new curriculum and no proper training was provided to teachers ahead of implementation.
“In fact, the majority of teachers were not consulted during the review process in 2015. Government has planned to fail,” he said.
He added that to date, government has failed to make provision to train educators responsible for teaching AS level, and instead the new curriculum has turned teachers into administrators with 80% of teaching time spent on filing as opposed to lesson planning and research.
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