Millions needed for project to revamp education system

THE Ministry of Education has been sent back to the drawing board to reduce the funding gap required to implement an ambitious multi-billion-dollar programme to overhaul the country’s education system.

At its meeting on September 6, Cabinet approved the 15-year plan – the Education and Training Sector Programme (ETSIP) – provided that the financing gap can be reduced through increased savings and support from donors. Another N$2,67 billion is still needed to carry out the N$12,6 billion programme over the next 10 years.Cabinet has mandated the Education Ministry to table a revised ETSIP in Parliament once it has reduced the funding gap to around N$400 million.Government received N$415 million in pledges at a donor conference in March when Prime Minister Nahas Angula, then the Higher Education Minister, unveiled the plan.A medium-term implementation programme has been worked out with technical assistance from the World Bank.The total implementation costs for ETSIP is estimated at N$11,1 million, of which Government only has N$8,4 million available, including aid from the European Union, Sida and the Netherlands.It is envisaged that the programme be implemented in three five-year programmes, the first of which covers the period 2005-2011.The first phase will focus on factors that will accelerate economic growth and equitable social development.The priorities include the provision of good-quality skilled labour, the establishment of a knowledge and innovation system, improving the general quality of education and the creation of greater opportunities for lifelong learning.When Angula unveiled the programme, he said Government was not getting adequate returns on what it was ploughing into the education sector.ETSIP is based on a 2003 study of the country’s education system, which revealed that Namibia’s productivity was low because of the poor quality of its labour force, which is largely uneducated.Another N$2,67 billion is still needed to carry out the N$12,6 billion programme over the next 10 years.Cabinet has mandated the Education Ministry to table a revised ETSIP in Parliament once it has reduced the funding gap to around N$400 million.Government received N$415 million in pledges at a donor conference in March when Prime Minister Nahas Angula, then the Higher Education Minister, unveiled the plan.A medium-term implementation programme has been worked out with technical assistance from the World Bank.The total implementation costs for ETSIP is estimated at N$11,1 million, of which Government only has N$8,4 million available, including aid from the European Union, Sida and the Netherlands.It is envisaged that the programme be implemented in three five-year programmes, the first of which covers the period 2005-2011.The first phase will focus on factors that will accelerate economic growth and equitable social development.The priorities include the provision of good-quality skilled labour, the establishment of a knowledge and innovation system, improving the general quality of education and the creation of greater opportunities for lifelong learning.When Angula unveiled the programme, he said Government was not getting adequate returns on what it was ploughing into the education sector.ETSIP is based on a 2003 study of the country’s education system, which revealed that Namibia’s productivity was low because of the poor quality of its labour force, which is largely uneducated.