Editorial: Education Can’t Afford Further Setbacks

THE education system in this country faces enough serious challenges without the matter being further compromised by a national teachers’ strike.

This prospect appears to be a serious one, judging by the consultative meeting attended by teachers from the central region in Windhoek yesterday. Education has been facing severe criticism in past months and even years.It is, generally speaking, not serving the needs of Namibians or apparently preparing the youth for the working years that lie ahead.The problems are manifold.There may be some success stories here and there, but overall, it seems to be accepted that the trend is a downwards one rather than the contrary if our results are anything to judge by.Further exacerbating the problem is the fact that students making it through to tertiary levels are also not guaranteed jobs, for the employment market is limited.Tertiary qualifications are not always what they should be and the preparedness, or lack thereof, for employment among the youth is a national problem that has implications far afield.Teachers have been at pains to state that the current impasse between themselves and Government is not of their making.They are only requesting what was promised in terms of Wascom recommendations, which dates back to the late 1990s, that have not been implemented.Added to this is Government’s most recent announcement that its promise of a salary increment was ‘incorrect’ and that new teachers already appointed on new salary scales had to ‘pay back’ while others would not receive the promised hikes either.This news has had a devastating impact on the teaching profession.And while most would try to avert a strike because of the negative impact on education, especially at exam time, both Nantu and TUN, and teachers themselves, feel that other avenues have been exhausted.Protests have not helped their cause either.Government finds itself in a difficult position, some of it of its own making.The issue should have been decisively dealt with some time ago, rather than having been allowed to simmer until it reached boiling point, as appears to be the case right now.Neither do the recent revelations of huge financial scams involving public funds help Government’s case when it pleads poverty or a lack of financial resources to give teachers a better life.Even though a strike has been threatened, Government now has a clear two weeks ahead to try and mend the rift with the teaching profession.The onus is on them to ensure there are no further delays in doing so.A national teachers’ strike on the eve of exams will surely be to the further detriment of an already struggling education system.Teachers, however, feel this is the only effective action that will ensure Government’s attention.They are at pains to state that this impasse has not been brought about by the demands of people in their profession, but is rather because of promises not kept.Government cannot afford indecisive action and needs to get to the bottom of why or who made the promises that apparently did not enjoy its approval, and Cabinet needs to shed further light on how it did not know of agreements undertaken by the Office of the Prime Minister in consultation with the Education Ministry.In short, Government cannot afford to lose any time in trying to resolve the situation and in so doing, to prevent our education system from sliding further down the abyss.Education has been facing severe criticism in past months and even years.It is, generally speaking, not serving the needs of Namibians or apparently preparing the youth for the working years that lie ahead.The problems are manifold.There may be some success stories here and there, but overall, it seems to be accepted that the trend is a downwards one rather than the contrary if our results are anything to judge by.Further exacerbating the problem is the fact that students making it through to tertiary levels are also not guaranteed jobs, for the employment market is limited.Tertiary qualifications are not always what they should be and the preparedness, or lack thereof, for employment among the youth is a national problem that has implications far afield.Teachers have been at pains to state that the current impasse between themselves and Government is not of their making.They are only requesting what was promised in terms of Wascom recommendations, which dates back to the late 1990s, that have not been implemented.Added to this is Government’s most recent announcement that its promise of a salary increment was ‘incorrect’ and that new teachers already appointed on new salary scales had to ‘pay back’ while others would not receive the promised hikes either.This news has had a devastating impact on the teaching profession.And while most would try to avert a strike because of the negative impact on education, especially at exam time, both Nantu and TUN, and teachers themselves, feel that other avenues have been exhausted.Protests have not helped their cause either.Government finds itself in a difficult position, some of it of its own making.The issue should have been decisively dealt with some time ago, rather than having been allowed to simmer until it reached boiling point, as appears to be the case right now.Neither do the recent revelations of huge financial scams involving public funds help Government’s case when it pleads poverty or a lack of financial resources to give teachers a better life.Even though a strike has been threatened, Government now has a clear two weeks ahead to try and mend the rift with the teaching profession.The onus is on them to ensure there are no further delays in doing so.A national teachers’ strike on the eve of exams will surely be to the further detriment of an already struggling education system.Teachers, however, feel this is the only effective action that will ensure Government’s attention.They are at pains to state that this impasse has not been brought about by the demands of people in their profession, but is rather because of promises not kept.Government cannot afford indecisive action and needs to get to the bottom of why or who made the promises that apparently did not enjoy its approval, and Cabinet needs to shed further light on how it did not know of agreements undertaken by the Office of the Prime Minister in consultation with the Education Ministry.In short, Government cannot afford to lose any time in trying to resolve the situation and in so doing, to prevent our education system from sliding further down the abyss.