Basic Education In The Spotlight

By: Editorial Comment

THE country is focused on educational issues at the moment, and quite rightly so, given the disappointing Grade 10 results last year, followed by the shortage of classrooms and space at schools as pupils registered for the new academic year.

In addition, it was revealed this week that the Ministry of Basic

Education had exhausted its travel and subsistence (S&T) budget

within the first eight months of the 2004-2005 financial year, with

the result that foreign trips have been suspended (unless paid for

by donors), and perhaps more crucially, workshops and training

programmes, for the remainder of this financial year.

Last week it was reported that an official in the said Ministry

had been arrested and charged with the theft of nearly N$100 000,

which had been earmarked for academic fees and allowances for some

40 Namibians studying in Zimbabwe.

 

Blow after blow appears to be falling on this Ministry, and to

all intents and purposes, these all appear to be largely

self-inflicted.

 

Minister of Basic Education John Mutorwa had a lot to say on the

question of duties, accountability and responsibility when he spoke

at the official announcement of Rusten Mogane's appointment as the

new Chief Administrator of the Namibia Sport Commission (NSC) this

week, and perhaps he should apply his words to the Ministry he

himself heads.

 

Mutorwa was almost dismissive when approached on the crucial

issue of hundreds of pupils who could not get placements at schools

throughout the country at the start of the academic year, and said

it was "nothing new".

 

He referred to the Ministry's difficulties with predicting the

number of Grade 1 pupils who would enrol each year, as

statisticians made projections based on previous enrolments.

 

We find this hard to understand, given that our census should be

of invaluable assistance on matters such as these.

 

So while his Ministry can hardly come up with acceptable excuses

for its failures in this regard, it must also be pointed out that

parents themselves must shoulder part of the blame for consistently

waking up too late and starting to find placement for their

children at the last minute.

 

As responsible parents, they should be embarking on this process

far earlier, and they, too, need to take some of the blame for the

start-of-year chaos.

 

Some schools advertised their placement programmes well in

advance but parents stayed away, only to make a lot of noise and to

threaten principals when schools reopened.

 

But the Ministry cannot be let off the hook.

 

Not only are full-time results increasingly disappointing, but

they seem to be accompanied by a deterioration in the quality of

teaching as well as facilities to promote a solid and workable

educational environment.

 

More and more school-leavers are unable to get jobs, and not

only is this because of the lack of job opportunities, but also the

fact that so many of them are poorly qualified and lack even the

most basic of skills that one would normally expect of a

matriculant.

 

Undoubtedly exacerbating the above is the fact that around 80

per cent of the Ministry's budget goes to salaries and S&Ts,

and not on improving the standards at schools or the training of

teachers.

 

Financial management is problematic, with the Ministry

exhausting its travel and subsistence budget months before the end

of the financial year.

 

The Ministry of Basic Education has one of the most formidable

tasks in this country.

 

There is little doubt that schooling a nation is a massive

priority, and one that needs to take the lion's share of the budget

in order to do effectively.

 

So it is no mean feat to get it right and it is not an enviable

task that the Minister has on his hands.

 

However, he simply has to be up to the challenge if education in

general, and ultimately the economy of our country and well-being

of citizens, is to be improved across the board.

 

He needs to have an iron hand in meeting these challenges

head-on and cleaning up his Ministry's act.

 

Last week it was reported that an official in the said Ministry had

been arrested and charged with the theft of nearly N$100 000, which

had been earmarked for academic fees and allowances for some 40

Namibians studying in Zimbabwe.Blow after blow appears to be

falling on this Ministry, and to all intents and purposes, these

all appear to be largely self-inflicted.Minister of Basic Education

John Mutorwa had a lot to say on the question of duties,

accountability and responsibility when he spoke at the official

announcement of Rusten Mogane's appointment as the new Chief

Administrator of the Namibia Sport Commission (NSC) this week, and

perhaps he should apply his words to the Ministry he himself

heads.Mutorwa was almost dismissive when approached on the crucial

issue of hundreds of pupils who could not get placements at schools

throughout the country at the start of the academic year, and said

it was "nothing new".He referred to the Ministry's difficulties

with predicting the number of Grade 1 pupils who would enrol each

year, as statisticians made projections based on previous

enrolments.We find this hard to understand, given that our census

should be of invaluable assistance on matters such as these.So

while his Ministry can hardly come up with acceptable excuses for

its failures in this regard, it must also be pointed out that

parents themselves must shoulder part of the blame for consistently

waking up too late and starting to find placement for their

children at the last minute.As responsible parents, they should be

embarking on this process far earlier, and they, too, need to take

some of the blame for the start-of-year chaos.Some schools

advertised their placement programmes well in advance but parents

stayed away, only to make a lot of noise and to threaten principals

when schools reopened.But the Ministry cannot be let off the

hook.Not only are full-time results increasingly disappointing, but

they seem to be accompanied by a deterioration in the quality of

teaching as well as facilities to promote a solid and workable

educational environment.More and more school-leavers are unable to

get jobs, and not only is this because of the lack of job

opportunities, but also the fact that so many of them are poorly

qualified and lack even the most basic of skills that one would

normally expect of a matriculant.Undoubtedly exacerbating the above

is the fact that around 80 per cent of the Ministry's budget goes

to salaries and S&Ts, and not on improving the standards at

schools or the training of teachers.Financial management is

problematic, with the Ministry exhausting its travel and

subsistence budget months before the end of the financial year.The

Ministry of Basic Education has one of the most formidable tasks in

this country.There is little doubt that schooling a nation is a

massive priority, and one that needs to take the lion's share of

the budget in order to do effectively.So it is no mean feat to get

it right and it is not an enviable task that the Minister has on

his hands.However, he simply has to be up to the challenge if

education in general, and ultimately the economy of our country and

well-being of citizens, is to be improved across the board.He needs

to have an iron hand in meeting these challenges head-on and

cleaning up his Ministry's act.

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