Teacher juggles three grades in one class
Kavango West education director Teopolina Hamutumua says quality education is being compromised at Gcigco Junior Primary School in Ncucuni constituency, where one teacher is teaching three grades simultaneously.
Namibian Sun recently visited the school and spoke to the teacher, Elizabeth Hamutenya, who shared the challenges she is faced with, including being the only educator.
She said although she is trying to adopt the multi-grade approach, she is faced with a number of challenges that can be addressed if another teacher is recruited.
The school has 26 learners in total, of which 16 are in grade 1, while five learners are in grade 2 and another five in grade 3.
Apart from the challenges of teaching a multi-grade classroom, she added the absence of a pre-primary school teacher has also made things worse, as she is now forced to teach the learners what they were expected to learn in the pre-primary phase.
Hamutenya also explained that if anything happens, such as a learner falling sick, she is forced to rush the pupil to the nearest clinic about 12 kilometres away.
She then has no option but to dismiss the rest of the learners.
“It is not easy because firstly these are small children and they are prone to getting sick easily and because we are deep in the village, where there is a network problem, you cannot call a parent to come get his or her child. Therefore, you have to rush that child to the nearest clinic, which is at Ncaute about 12 kilometres away,” she explained.
Hamutenya said if she had an additional staff member to assist her, they would be able to split the learners as there is an unused classroom.
“The school currently implements multi-grade teaching where three grades are combined in one classroom. This situation is not ideal because it has negative impact on the provision of quality education, especially if the teacher is not professionally trained or does not know how to implement the multi-grade approach,” Hamutumua said.
She, however, added the ministry has no plan to recruit another teacher for the school, because the number of learners do not warrant another teacher, as the ministry's staffing norm is one teacher for 35 learners.
“As per the provision of Staffing Norm Formal Education Circular 13/2019 the school qualifies for one teacher only. The ratio is one teacher for every 35 learners,” Hamutumua said.
“As you can see, the total enrolment at Gcigco Junior Primary School is less than the minimum requirement to establish a school, but because the ministry is committed to the provision of access to education for children, the school is allocated with a teaching post, despite the fact that the total enrolment is less than the required number of 35 learners.”
Hamutumua said the directorate is working on establishing primary school hostels across the region to accommodate learners from “uneconomical schools” to ensure the provision of inclusive quality education.
She added two of these hostels are now fully operational at the Mukekete and Naucova primary schools and the directorate is busy with the construction of a third primary hostel at Elago Primary School.
KENYA KAMBOWE
Namibian Sun recently visited the school and spoke to the teacher, Elizabeth Hamutenya, who shared the challenges she is faced with, including being the only educator.
She said although she is trying to adopt the multi-grade approach, she is faced with a number of challenges that can be addressed if another teacher is recruited.
The school has 26 learners in total, of which 16 are in grade 1, while five learners are in grade 2 and another five in grade 3.
Apart from the challenges of teaching a multi-grade classroom, she added the absence of a pre-primary school teacher has also made things worse, as she is now forced to teach the learners what they were expected to learn in the pre-primary phase.
Hamutenya also explained that if anything happens, such as a learner falling sick, she is forced to rush the pupil to the nearest clinic about 12 kilometres away.
She then has no option but to dismiss the rest of the learners.
“It is not easy because firstly these are small children and they are prone to getting sick easily and because we are deep in the village, where there is a network problem, you cannot call a parent to come get his or her child. Therefore, you have to rush that child to the nearest clinic, which is at Ncaute about 12 kilometres away,” she explained.
Hamutenya said if she had an additional staff member to assist her, they would be able to split the learners as there is an unused classroom.
“The school currently implements multi-grade teaching where three grades are combined in one classroom. This situation is not ideal because it has negative impact on the provision of quality education, especially if the teacher is not professionally trained or does not know how to implement the multi-grade approach,” Hamutumua said.
She, however, added the ministry has no plan to recruit another teacher for the school, because the number of learners do not warrant another teacher, as the ministry's staffing norm is one teacher for 35 learners.
“As per the provision of Staffing Norm Formal Education Circular 13/2019 the school qualifies for one teacher only. The ratio is one teacher for every 35 learners,” Hamutumua said.
“As you can see, the total enrolment at Gcigco Junior Primary School is less than the minimum requirement to establish a school, but because the ministry is committed to the provision of access to education for children, the school is allocated with a teaching post, despite the fact that the total enrolment is less than the required number of 35 learners.”
Hamutumua said the directorate is working on establishing primary school hostels across the region to accommodate learners from “uneconomical schools” to ensure the provision of inclusive quality education.
She added two of these hostels are now fully operational at the Mukekete and Naucova primary schools and the directorate is busy with the construction of a third primary hostel at Elago Primary School.
KENYA KAMBOWE
Comments
Namibian Sun
No comments have been left on this article