Nangof wants more resources for education

THE Nangof Trust, an umbrella body of civil and non-governmental organisations, said more resources should be allocated to the education sector to address its inherent weaknesses.

This is despite its ranking in the Global Competitiveness Report in which Namibia is rated fifth out of 133 countries in terms of government funding. Equally, the Namibian education sector is ranked 84th in terms of the quality of primary education, and 104th in terms of the quality of the educational system in higher education and training. The World Bank reported further stated that Namibia ranks below 130th amongst the countries surveyed regarding the outcomes and performance of the education system. Nangof acknowledged that while regular increases of budgetary allocations have been made, these have not paved the way to achieving equitable quality education, and neither has there been a more efficient and effective service delivery. The organisation said the education system has not been built on a strong foundation from the start, because early education remains accessible to only a few children. About 20 per cent of those under the age of five attend pre-primary education. One area that is not highlighted at the national conference on education is the language policy. Nangof moved that there is inadequate investment in the development of indigenous African languages and a lack of properly skilled mother tongue teachers. This, it said, is while a majority of teachers are not proficient in English. It proposed greater investment in early childhood development, which currently receives about two per cent of the overall education budget, and expressed concern over the high drop out rate of Grade 1’s which is estimated at 4,2 per cent, and the high repetition rate at that level. The organisation further said that although Namcol has provided some relieve to the Grade 10 dropouts, it does not adequately address the plight of of these children. It said the Ministry of Education should thus consider the reintroduction of supplementary examinations for those that have missed the pass mark by a few points in both Grades 10 and 12. For tertiary education, Nangof suggested that Government expands its students financial assistance programme, while the private sector is encouraged to invest more in human resources development.