EDITORIAL: Education administration needs an overhaul

The management of the Namibian education system beyond the classroom leaves much to be desired.

We are always quick to pin the blame on teachers when results are poor, forgetting that there are other stakeholders who must collectively bring their part so that the system can flourish.

Among those stakeholders are the administrative staff of the education ministry, especially those who deal with the allocation of financial resources. We often hear how schools go months into the financial year without receiving money to fund their operations - this includes buying textbooks and stationery. Teachers are left to fend for themselves in most cases, yet they get the biggest part of the blame.

Administrators have developed a lackadaisical attitude towards education - they couldn’t care less about providing the necessary support to schools timeously.

The planning machinery of the ministry has also become worrisome, especially with revelations that some circuits have cancelled their common circuit examinations for May and June due to financial constraints.

This is despite the education ministry being one of the top beneficiaries of the national budget annually. This clearly points to a lack of financial planning.

For years, we have pumped billions of dollars into the education system without getting the desired results. However, we fail to realise that our failure lies not in the lack of financial resources, but rather the lack of comprehensive planning and execution on the part of administrators.

Even if we double the education budget next year, the output will continue to be dismal if we do not tackle the systemic shortcomings.