Govt to reinstate preschool education from next year

WITH one in five first-graders having to repeat the year, implementing pre-primary education in a limited way from next year is “very necessary”, Education Minister Nangolo Mbumba said at Okahandja yesterday.

He was addressing members of the Pre-Primary Task Team’s first working session at the National Institute of Educational Development (Nied). The team, which has members from every region, is set to develop a curriculum and teachers’ guide as well as basic teaching and learning materials for use in pre-primary schools countrywide.It will also be responsible for training caregivers at a later stage.Mbumba said pre-primary education would only be introduced at a limited number of disadvantaged schools next year, starting with those with the least resources in each region.”We should start with children who really need help,” the Minister urged.”Our intention then is to give learners from the most disadvantaged communities a flying start.”Because of costs, he said, it would not be possible to offer one year’s pre-primary education at all 1 045 primary schools in Namibia.Last year, Cabinet decided to transfer pre-primary education from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare to the Ministry of Education.”The other years of Early Childhood Development, from birth to age five years, will remain the responsibility of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare through the various ECD centres that already exist around the country,” Mbumba said.He called on the team members to fully understand the importance of what they are doing, creating new opportunities for the country’s children.”You can expect a lot of fun, and many challenges, but no rest at all,” he said.The task team’s activities form part of the government’s Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme, known as Etsip for short.Mbumba reminded the team not to forget family literacy programmes, so that the children’s mothers could also become literate.The team, which has members from every region, is set to develop a curriculum and teachers’ guide as well as basic teaching and learning materials for use in pre-primary schools countrywide.It will also be responsible for training caregivers at a later stage.Mbumba said pre-primary education would only be introduced at a limited number of disadvantaged schools next year, starting with those with the least resources in each region.”We should start with children who really need help,” the Minister urged.”Our intention then is to give learners from the most disadvantaged communities a flying start.”Because of costs, he said, it would not be possible to offer one year’s pre-primary education at all 1 045 primary schools in Namibia.Last year, Cabinet decided to transfer pre-primary education from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare to the Ministry of Education.”The other years of Early Childhood Development, from birth to age five years, will remain the responsibility of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare through the various ECD centres that already exist around the country,” Mbumba said.He called on the team members to fully understand the importance of what they are doing, creating new opportunities for the country’s children.”You can expect a lot of fun, and many challenges, but no rest at all,” he said.The task team’s activities form part of the government’s Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme, known as Etsip for short.Mbumba reminded the team not to forget family literacy programmes, so that the children’s mothers could also become literate.