Namwandi says education is a beast

‘EDUCATION is a beast!’ These were the parting words of former minister of education David Namwandi as he bade staff and subordinates at the ministry goodbye last week.

Namwandi, who received farewell messages from various education stakeholders last week, described the institution that he headed for two years as a savage beast that was not easy to tame but worth it, nonetheless.

“The Ministry of Education is an animal, like a lion. It is not a joke,” Namwandi confessed. “But it was worth it for the sake of the Namibian child,” he told an audience comprising of ministry staff, industry players, student and teacher unions and directorates.

Collapsing hostel facilities, dilapidated classrooms, shortage of textbooks, a high Grade 10 and 12 failure rate, a shortage of qualified teachers, lack of teachers’ housing – the list of the education woes seems to be endless, but apart from all this, Namwandi said, it was important to keep focus, remain committed and go the extra mile towards the achievement of the country’s educational goals.

Shortly before his farewell, The Namibian had an interview with the former minister to talk about the ministry he describes as a beast, and how he has tried to tame it.

“We did what was humanly possible – Abraham and I.”

Remembering his predecessor, the late minister Abraham Iyambo, Namwandi believes they did their best and reflected on some of the major key changes they introduced to the ministry. He said Iyambo taught him to “keep the focus until the end”.

“I have tried my best to continue with the agenda of my late minister, including focus on the back-to-school campaigns and free primary education,” he said. Namwandi says one of his major accomplishments was the full implementation of Universal Primary Education (UPE), which will be followed by free secondary education and later on free tertiary education, in order to meet the goals of the “Education for All” motto of the ministry.

He also said decisive steps have been taken to promote various bilateral agreements to improve teaching and learning both for general education, higher education and vocational education and training.

“I remember when my team and I decided to revamp the national curriculum. We worked around the clock; we reviewed every aspect of the curriculum to make sure that Namibia will never be at the bottom of the ladder. I thank Cabinet for supporting our submission fully,” he said. “One of the reasons former President Hifikepunye Pohamba won the Mo Ibrahim prize was because of the country’s attempt to improve the education system and provide free education,” he stated, adding that “reading the SMS pages of The Namibian was not easy.”

Namwandi said he cringed every time he turned over the popular SMS pages of The Namibian, as there was always someone out there blaming him for something that went wrong somewhere. He said the responsibility of education should not fall on the shoulders of government alone, but should be a collective effort from the State, teachers and parents.

“Perceptions about the ministry of education point to the ministry as the sole institution responsible for meeting the diverse educational needs of the nation – so making it a collective responsibility, including the role of parents, is critical.”

He believes there are some in the education sector that are happy to see him leave because of what he describes as his zero-tolerance of indiscipline and corruption. He also said there were people that screamed conflict of interest when they found out he was a founder of the International University of Management (IUM). He was later cleared of this charge by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

“I just say forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do, whenever I hear such rumours,” he said. “I was attacked by those who are running public institutions as if they are running their own private institutions.”

Asked about the food tender scandal that rocked the ministry, in particular fingers pointing at his permanent secretary Alfred Ilukena, Namwandi said: “I did what I could within my jurisdiction as a minister, I cannot do what I should not be doing; the rest is in the hands of the authorities. I never took sides during my tenure and tried my level best to ensure that everybody is combed with the same comb,” he said.

Namwandi also battled with various teachers’ unions over the lack of housing for teachers, especially those teaching in the rural areas and the acute shortage of skilled teachers in the country was a big “headache”. “As long as the developmental budget is not increased, we will not achieve what we have set out to achieve,” he said.

Namwandi argues that 94% of the ministry’s budget goes towards operational costs and only 6% is left for the developmental budget, a situation he hopes the new government will rectify. He said there were funding challenges, although education received the biggest chunk of the national budget.

The current budget allocation for the ministry was N$13 billion for the 2014/2015 financial year, and the new ceiling of N$15 billion for the 2015/2016 financial year was not enough, because most of the funds are earmarked for salaries. “We still have classroom shortages, unqualified and under-qualified teachers to deal with,” he said.

Namwandi stated that although he has officially left government, he will continue to contribute to the economic and social development of the country in various ways. “I’m not going to look for another job, I will just see what I will do with what I have,” he said.

Now that he has been relieved of the heavy responsibility of national education, he has his sights on fully committing to his farm in the Otjozondjupa region where he grows maize and other produce.

He also said the IUM, which he started with his wife Virginia, is not a family business but a national dream. “I already have people working at IUM; I will only assist where I can and advise them. IUM is my product, but it is a national dream and I will only be there to advise and assist where I can,” he said.

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.