EU, Unicef donate N$15.3 million to education

THE United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and the European Union (EU) signed an agreement with the Ministry of Education on Tuesday which will see N$15,3 million allocated for the Social Accountability and School Governance in the Education Sector in Namibia project.

The EU has made the N$15,3 million contribution to Unicef to strengthen school governance in Namibia with the purpose of informing local organisations and school communities about their role in the management and monitoring of the education system.In an attempt to address the low levels of community and parental awareness and engagement in school education, the EU funded project will focus on creating an understanding of educational rights, purposes, policies and practices in building the capacity of civil society, teachers and communities for active participation in school governance within the local, regional and national education system.The project is in line with the 10th European Development Fund, Education Sector Policy Support Programme (SPSP) and the Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP). The Policy Support Program focuses on assisting the government in achieving equal access to education service delivery at pre-primary and primary levels. One of the expected outcomes of the is that social accountability is strengthened through the engagement of non-state actors in the monitoring and review of the effectiveness and efficiency of education services.ETSIP is committed to strengthening partnerships to achieve its goals. However, in a statement released at the signing ceremony, the signatories noted that accountability in the education sector in Namibia principally involves government and public service providers evaluating their own performance against targets.’Civil society organisations, learners and communities in Namibia to date have not been significantly involved in these processes and… broader levels of community and parental understanding of their and their children’s rights to education remain weak,’ the statement reads.Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary, Alfred Ilukena, signed the agreement on behalf of the ministry. Ilukena welcomed the initiative and thanked both the EU and Unicef for their active participation and continued support in achieving equitable access and quality outcomes for learners, and efficiency in education service delivery.Emphasising social accountability and school governance, the Permanent Secretary said that a great deal of criticism which the education ministry receives is related to the relationship between teachers and learners. ‘In most cases we are saying that the two should work hand-in-hand. Where you have a teacher in the classroom, but if the learner is not willing to learn, you do everything possible but at the end of the day you have nothing to show for it,’ Ilukena said.The Permanent Secretary said that through the exercise the ministry is hoping to ‘energise learners to understand that they are responsible for their own learning, while ensuring that school governance and the school environment is supportive and encouraging the teaching and learning environment to foster to positive outcome that we are looking for.’

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.

The Namibian uses AI tools to assist with improved quality, accuracy and efficiency, while maintaining editorial oversight and journalistic integrity.