The Capricorn Foundation has reaffirmed its commitment to improving education outcomes in Namibia by expanding its support for Meerkat Learning’s Teaching at the Right Level (Tarl) programme.
The foundation’s support reached 1 200 pupils and 200 teachers across the Kunene region.
Since 2024, the foundation has invested N$798 000 under its education focus area to help strengthen foundational literacy and numeracy. Results from the past two years supported 1 000 pupils across 10 schools.
In 2026, the programme will scale to 15 schools across five circuits, including remote and nomadic communities, and will host the first Tarl-Namcol Holiday Camp for out-of-school youth.
“The Capricorn Foundation commends Meerkat Learning for its dedication to achieving solid results and making a meaningful difference in pupils’ foundational education in the Kunene region.
Meerkat Learning continues to serve as a catalyst for positive change, reflecting our core values and our collective commitment to improving the quality of education for every Namibian child,” says Capricorn Foundation executive director Marlize Horn.
The Tarl programme has demonstrated consistent, measurable improvement in pupils’ literacy and numeracy abilities.
Baseline and endline assessments from 2024 and 2025 highlight the programme’s effectiveness. At Jack Francis Primary School, innumeracy dropped dramatically from 75% to 21%. At Otjimuhaka Mobile Unit and Ovituambu Primary School, serving nomadic communities, pupils’ division-level skills improved by up to 41%.
Tarl is a globally recognised initiative that strengthens basic literacy and numeracy in primary schools.
Meerkat Learning country director Angelica Amporo says in Namibia, the programme, nationally endorsed and implemented by 10 regional directorates of the education ministry since 2020, has proven that targeted, level-based instruction works.
“The Tarl programme is only as strong as the people behind it, and in the Kunene region we have an exceptional team – from dedicated schoolteachers and the leadership of the regional director, Sophia Ferdrieck, to committed volunteers and pupils. In a remarkably short period, we have seen children rekindle their enthusiasm for learning, mastering basic reading and math at accelerated levels,” Horn says.
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