Education Deputy Minister gets philosophical in NA

DEPUTY Minister of Education Becky Ndjoze-Ojo stopped short of responding to criticism levelled against the country’s education system during debate in the National Assembly last week, insisting only that it was under constant review.

Choosing rather to philosophise about how Government should view education than provide answers to the failings of the system, Ndjoze-Ojo told critics that their contributions would be used in the reform process. “Education is a process and not a product.Consequently at no time would one claim to have arrived at a destination at which the education system of any given country has all the answers to all the multi-faceted questions,” said Ndjoze-Ojo.”Education reform is thus a constant process that continuously and consistently supports the endless journey that also takes us from the cradle to the grave”.She ruled out a request by DTA President Katuutire Kaura – who tabled a motion that Grade 10 pupils should be allowed to repeat the grade if they do not obtain enough points to remain in the formal schooling sector – saying the core reason for this was financial constraints.Ndjoze-Ojo said Government could not spend N$56,7 million to provide education to “those who are unwilling and unable to study hard in order to meet stipulated requirements”.Ndjoze-Ojo’s response to remarks made during the debate took her from the Constitution to Vision 2030 to the philosopher Rousseau and ultimately the Education Ministry’s revamp programme – ETSIP (Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme).As Government’s biggest employer (68 per cent of civil servants are employed by the Education Ministry), and the recipient of the largest portion of the National Budget, Ndjoze-Ojo said this was indicative of Government’s commitment to educating the nation.”Education is, has always been, and shall always be a priority of priorities,” said Ndjoze-Ojo.She maintained that major improvements had been made in education over the years, including access to education, but acknowledged that more needed to be done.”The serious review has taken place, is taking place and shall take place,” she said.Ndjoze-Ojo said the education sector was now pinning its hopes on ETSIP to respond to the needs of attaining the goals of Vision 2030 and improving the quality of education and training from Grade 1 to 10.Contributing to the education debate on Thursday, the UDF’s Michael Goreseb said while there was general consensus that the education system was “a mess” and that “it has failed the nation”, nobody was identifying the root causes of the “deplorable state of affairs”.Goreseb said he acknowledged that Government had good intentions to improve the education system but it was “sluggish” in implementing its programmes.”As a solution to many problems, I would advocate for [a] human-factor-driven education system in order to curb the current chaotic state of affairs at some of our schools and in the community at large,” said Goreseb.He said by failing to consider the human factor in education, the system was failing to address the needs of the masses, which he said should be focused on the acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitude and behaviour.”We must therefore introduce education for self-reliance and education with production, to allow an individual pupil to leave school with an idea of basic skills such as to read and write, count and speak, agricultural production, animal husbandry, trade marketing, home management and prospecting,” said Goreseb.”Education is a process and not a product.Consequently at no time would one claim to have arrived at a destination at which the education system of any given country has all the answers to all the multi-faceted questions,” said Ndjoze-Ojo.”Education reform is thus a constant process that continuously and consistently supports the endless journey that also takes us from the cradle to the grave”.She ruled out a request by DTA President Katuutire Kaura – who tabled a motion that Grade 10 pupils should be allowed to repeat the grade if they do not obtain enough points to remain in the formal schooling sector – saying the core reason for this was financial constraints.Ndjoze-Ojo said Government could not spend N$56,7 million to provide education to “those who are unwilling and unable to study hard in order to meet stipulated requirements”.Ndjoze-Ojo’s response to remarks made during the debate took her from the Constitution to Vision 2030 to the philosopher Rousseau and ultimately the Education Ministry’s revamp programme – ETSIP (Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme).As Government’s biggest employer (68 per cent of civil servants are employed by the Education Ministry), and the recipient of the largest portion of the National Budget, Ndjoze-Ojo said this was indicative of Government’s commitment to educating the nation.”Education is, has always been, and shall always be a priority of priorities,” said Ndjoze-Ojo.She maintained that major improvements had been made in education over the years, including access to education, but acknowledged that more needed to be done.”The serious review has taken place, is taking place and shall take place,” she said.Ndjoze-Ojo said the education sector was now pinning its hopes on ETSIP to respond to the needs of attaining the goals of Vision 2030 and improving the quality of education and training from Grade 1 to 10.Contributing to the education debate on Thursday, the UDF’s Michael Goreseb said while there was general consensus that the education system was “a mess” and that “it has failed the nation”, nobody was identifying the root causes of the “deplorable state of affairs”.Goreseb said he acknowledged that Government had good intentions to improve the education system but it was “sluggish” in implementing its programmes.”As a solution to many problems, I would advocate for [a] human-factor-driven education system in order to curb the current chaotic state of affairs at some of our schools and in the community at large,” said Goreseb.He said by failing to consider the human factor in education, the system was failing to address the needs of the masses, which he said should be focused on the acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitude and behaviour.”We must therefore introduce education for self-reliance and education with production, to allow an individual pupil to leave school with an idea of basic skills such as to read and write, count and speak, agricultural production, animal husbandry, trade marketing, home management and prospecting,” said Goreseb.