Ndama East and Bureaucratic Attitudes

Forign Students in a foreign country tend to gravitate toward one another.

This was the case in 2011 at Stellenbosch University in South Africa.

Gideon Niitenge, now the presiding Bishop of Elcin, was studying for his PhD in theology. During a discussion, I told him about an education conference, to be held at the end of June 2011, under the inspiring leadership of then education minister Abraham Iyambo.

Our discussion turned to his student struggle days at Gabriel Taapopi Secondary School before independence.
The message of the struggle was that a fair and democratic education system would replace Bantu education.

This new system inspired them to fearlessly participate in protest actions.

Fast forward to after independence: bishop Niitenge waited until he realised the promised system would not come.

It was a case of continuity within change or, in Shakespeare’s words, “a tale full of sound and fury, signifying nothing”.
 
POLICY PROMISES
 
In 1986, the United Nations Institute for Namibia, under Hage Geingob as director, published a study titled ‘Namibia: Perspectives for National Reconstruction and Development’.

This study was the foundation for setting up our education system. It conceptualised a post-independence education policy as correcting the educational wrongs of Bantu education, including its discriminatory and demeaning practices.

In 1993, Namibia released another important policy document, ‘Towards Education for All’, which set out the post-independence philosophy of
education.
The four major goals were: access, equity, quality and democracy.

More than 500 pupils being taught under trees fall outside these goals. This is not what bishop Niitenge and others were promised before independence.

Another intervention was the transition from Bantu education’s teacher-centred system to a learner-centred education system. One of its principles was the importance of using social context as a learning resource.

An African pupil has a strong connection to and is rooted in their immediate community. Those who ignore the social context demonstrate a failure to comprehend a learner-centred education system.
 
SOCIAL CONTEXT AND THE NUMBERS
 
After Windhoek, with 486 301 inhabitants, Rundu takes second place with 118 632 inhabitants.

This is the social context that should inform policy, as opposed to a bureaucratic approach. A few months ago, about 1 300 pupils in the Rundu circuit alone were without placement.

At one point, a school at Ndama had 114 pupils in a single class. The situation persists, with classes ranging between 40 and 80 pupils.

Kavango East has the highest teacher-pupil ratio in the country. This is the context that must inform policy, not a bureaucratic approach.
Locating the Ndama East situation in the realm of illegalities and unemployed teachers is a misdiagnosis.

Worse, arguing that 900 metres separate Ndama East and Ndama South is to dwell on trivialities.

Are there 14 empty classrooms at Ndama South to accommodate the 500 pupils? Why are there tents at this new school?

Let’s return to the 900 metres. I went to Iipumbu Secondary School, and the distance between Iipumbu and Oshakati Secondary School is less than 20 metres.

The distance between Rundu Junior Primary School and Rundu Senior Primary School is only centimetres. Only 20 metres separate Rundu Junior Primary School and Mbambi Primary School.

The same is true for Rundu Secondary School and Dr Romanus Kampungu Secondary School. Only a fence separates Rundu Secondary School and Dr Herbert Ndango Diaz Secondary School.

A SPECTRUM OF INEQUALITY?
 
The government, employing this bureaucratic attitude, has announced it is pumping N$700 million into formalising informal settlements.

Prime minister Elijah Ngurare said “informal settlements have long been a challenge… challenges we cannot ignore. We must acknowledge the complexity of these issues and work to make lasting change.”

There is no difference between informal settlements receiving N$700 million and Ndama East. Jesus said “let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them”. Why hinder children’s right to education?

Where does this bureaucratic approach come from?

Historian Carter G Woodson, in his book ‘The Mis-Education of the Negro’, seems to have an answer.

“If you make a man feel that he is inferior, you do not have to compel him to accept an inferior status, for he will seek it himself.”
The situation at Ndama and in Kavango East is a failure of leadership and planning.

The education ministry must take urgent measures to ensure a conducive learning environment at Ndama East Primary School and that plans be put in place to build a permanent school for the community.
 

• Job Amupanda is a member of parliament and the activist-in-chief of the Affirmative Repositioning movement.

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.