SMSes of the Day : Wednesday

* OF course teaching is a noble profession. However, it is pictured as allegedly tiring, stressful and unrewarding. Is this the reality or a subjective perception? The fact is that the teaching profession is becoming saturated with job and salary seekers who are to a certain extent not creative and innovative in teaching at all, with only a few real, purposeful teachers. Those of us who know our purpose of being teachers enjoy every challenge and moment that comes our way. Anyway, Namibian teachers are among the highest paid public servants in Africa. What one needs to know is that one can never be satisfied or get rich while working for someone else. If you want to be fairly remunerated and respected, establish your own business and see how difficult it is to pay employees.

* HAVING seen two Government Land Cruisers racing at incredibly high speed in busy traffic between Okahandja and Windhoek on Sunday afternoon, I’m surprised nobody lost their lives on this road! Both vehicles put other road users in grave danger, overtaking on a blind rise, ducking and diving between cars without indicating, etc. Undisturbed they zoomed past a Police speed trap! Their safety is not of my concern, but this sort of careless driving could easily result in injury or death to other law-abiding motorists! Food for thought* WITH shock and disbelief I heard how much money was allocated to the Ministry of Safety and Security. Now the question comes to mind: are the men and women in uniform not the ones protecting us, are they not the ones attending to our complaints, strikes, demonstrations and keeping us safe? Can something be done with their salaries because they are the ones whom you will find at cash loans every month-end. I believe this is a cry for more money.* IT is very unfair to single out Frans Indongo by saying he didn’t donate anything towards the flood victims in the North. Mr Indongo has contributed a lot and those who are donating now can’t be compared with what Mr Indongo has done. Mr Indongo doesn’t need to look for publicity as some people do.Politics in general* THE claims made that the Governor of Ohangwena, Usko Nghaamwa, was given a mandate by the people of his party is wrong and devoid of any truth, because he was imposed on the people of Ohangwena by the powers that be. Mr Nghaamwa proudly revealed this in his inaugural speech when he told those present that his name was sent from Windhoek (Swapo Headquarters). What is more, the RDP is not worried about the fact that the said Governor held a meeting with the headmen, but its concern is about the message the honourable relayed to them. To tell the headmen not to allow RDP members to campaign in their villages, is that not intimidation? Let the playing field be levelled otherwise these elections are never going to be free and fair.* I WOULD like to inform the Governor of the Ohangwena Region that every Namibian has the right to join or affiliate to any political party of his or her choice. Rumour has it that the honourable Governor apparently approached the management of the Engela Hospital to compile a list of all staff members suspected of being RDP members. Please honourable sir, read the Constitution of Namibia to inform yourself.* RDP leadership does not only have problems with time management, but also with loyalty towards its supporters. Look at what the interim president did at Keetmanshoop. Shame, there is no place and support for you in the South.* WHAT kind of leader abandons a meeting because the attendance was poor (Hidipo Hamutenya’s reported no-show at Keetmans RDP rally)? It shows he cannot lead and has no respect for the people of the South.* THE RDP supporters always claim they are intimidated or assaulted by Swapo supporters. All these alleged assaults are just ordinary crime and should not be seen as politically motivated.Education* WE Grade 12s at Haimbili Haufiku are attending classes with a Namcol learner, who failed Grade 12 in 2004. The girl is a daughter of a principal. Is what is happening at our school possible?* THE Grade 10 decree is long overdue. I am a foreigner in this country and I was shocked by this oversight. These children are tomorrow’s leaders and the old system was denying this country of such leaders. Let the ministry work on improving standards but let’s not deprive our children of what’s rightfully theirs.* NAMIBIA, it’s about time to wake up. It’s a fact that there are hard-working and lazy teachers. Do the people out there realise the hardships we as teachers face? Not to mention sitting with 10 Grade 10 classes of which half can’t read nor write. We have an illiterate young population. It’s useless and futile to take back such learners! How can you teach a child that comes to secondary school without any clue of what is expected of him as a future adult. It’s a national scandal! And we expect such learners to pass?* TEACHERS can’t be forced to work until late in the afternoon unless their salaries are adjusted. What do we have: are poor wages (can’t even afford a roof, not to mention a car), ill-mannered children to teach and ungrateful, selfish parents. Don’t be surprised if by January 2009 there are no teachers for those spoiled brats. TUN and Nantu please wake up and fight for us. What’s happening to our membership fees?* TEACHERS are not the only ones to blame for the high failure rate in our country. The students who do not study are responsible for their own failure. Parents cannot blame the lack of reading skills on teachers. They should help their children to read and buy books and magazines to help improve their reading skills. Leave the teachers alone and take responsibility for your children’s education.* THOSE people who say that the teachers must work until 16h00 or 17h00, do you know what you are talking about? What kids do you want us to teach until that time and do you think about schools that already have afternoon classes? Most of the time we the teachers are not at fault, the fault lies with the kids, parents who support their kids and attack teachers and the Ministry of Education for no reason. Every year we are informed that we must make extra files. Right now in lower primary we are sitting with eight files where only three are actually useful to the teaching process, viz the preparation file, assessment file and compensatory file. The other files are for putting minutes of meetings held, and general information and I just wonder how on earth these files contribute to improving the pass rate. We are doing more administrative work by the ministry’s order rather than teaching. Learners must change their attitude, the parents must help us with their kids and the higher authorities revisit your plan.* PLEASE teachers, teach us to pass Grade 10 and 12. You can’t just sit and get paid every month for nothing.* My problem is with the Ministry of Education. When do I qualify for study leave? What are the ministry’s requirements? I applied for study leave and my application was not approved, but I know someone who also applied for it and hers was approved, just because she is a daughter of highly ranked someone in the ministry. Can the ministry respond on this matter please! – Kauna G* I WANT to know the position of the Ministry of Education about the teachers who were admitted for the BETD in-service training programme, who dropped out. I know some in Ohangwena Circuit, Udjombala Cluster. I want to know in which category these teachers fall now, since they are still teaching?* POLYTECHNIC and Unam are you aware that some Zimbabwean nationals are writing assignments on behalf of your students at the Unam centre at Katima Mulilo?* INSTITUTE for Open Learning is a business enterprise. They call us customers not students. They deduct money for textbooks which we don’t receive. Given due dates for assignments are changed orally without notifying their customers working in remote areas. These ignored customers become victims of IOL’s mistakes. Please stick to the due dates communicated to us. – Concerned victim* GRADE 10 teachers are forced to work on weekends and holidays to finish the syllabus. They travel long distances on bad roads because the Government doesn’t construct teachers’ houses in remote areas. Please do something, we’reexhausted. Teachers are increasingly becoming slaves of education.* NEKULILO Omagano Memorial School at Ongwediva has been losing good teachers in the last three years, because of poor treatment by management. As a parent with two children at the school, I implore the workers’ union to visit the school and interview the individual workers to get to the bottom of this matter, because we are paying a lot of money. We are at the point of withdrawing our children, who are now taught in Oshiwambo in upper primary. Something is fishy.* IT is high time for the Government to do the right planning at the right time and with the right people. How could they possibly plan to start a school without all the necessary basic needs for learners? Eheke Senior Secondary School does not have beds and dining hall chairs for the learners yet. And yet we claim the provision of quality education. It is time that the Government acknowledges its failures also. It is not justifiable to claim building schools, which are not fully equipped. In actual fact, it is sloppy planning leading to the high failure rate we witness today.* PRESIDENT Pohamba once said that “It’s either we are failing to plan or planning to fail”. It is now evident that they are failing to plan. How could they just decide to have the Grade 10 failures to repeat without proper planning prior to the decision? Surely! The GRN has successfully failed to plan.* I’M a teacher at the Pionier Boys’ School and am of the opinion that the person writing about the lack of discipline at the school is not properly informed. We teachers at the school never mentioned that we are unsafe. People should stop telling lies to the public. All schools have disciplinary problems of different nature.* I WOULD like the Ministry of Education and Nantu to tell us why they recognise some of Azalia College qualifications and not others.* STUDENT nurses at the Oshakati northern campus are suffering. They have no accommodation and parents have to pay expensive rent in addition to high tuition fees for their children. Can’t the Ministry of Health give allowance to the student nurses to cover some of their expenses?* WE are waiting for the Education Minister to respond to those of us who failed Grade12 and could not enrol with Namcol, because of a lack of study materials. Can you please provide these materials?From the regions* THE Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources is planning to relocate staff of the Hardap Inland Fish Institute to close down the office. This office caters for the Karas, Hardap, Omaheke, Khomas and Erongo regions in aquaculture extension activities. Our understanding is that the ministry is shifting all aquaculture activities to the northern and northeastern regions. What will happen to the southern and central regions concerning aquaculture extension work? It is believed that the ministry has sent a proposal to the Office of the Prime Minister to consider closing down the office in Hardap.* THE councillor for Opuwo Constituency, you were sent to represent Kunene Region in the National Council, but you hardly take our problems to the Chamber. There is no development taking place in your constituency and you do not give feedback to the people who elected you, but when it is election time you will come to the people to tell them to vote for you again so that you can continue running your private businesses as you are currently doing. – M Rutjindo* IT’S a pity how the residents in Tsumeb are being deceived by their municipality. How on earth can you wait for almost two weeks for a toilet to be fixed? Come on, this is ridiculous. Now we have to use the bucket system and call them every day only to be told we should be patient.General* PLEASE Minister of Labour help us with our social security claims at Keetmanshoop. I claimed for my maternity benefit last year November but until now I did not receive anything.Food for thought * WITH shock and disbelief I heard how much money was allocated to the Ministry of Safety and Security. Now the question comes to mind: are the men and women in uniform not the ones protecting us, are they not the ones attending to our complaints, strikes, demonstrations and keeping us safe? Can something be done with their salaries because they are the ones whom you will find at cash loans every month-end. I believe this is a cry for more money.* IT is very unfair to single out Frans Indongo by saying he didn’t donate anything towards the flood victims in the North. Mr Indongo has contributed a lot and those who are donating now can’t be compared with what Mr Indongo has done. Mr Indongo doesn’t need to look for publicity as some people do.Politics in general * THE claims made that the Governor of Ohangwena, Usko Nghaamwa, was given a mandate by the people of his party is wrong and devoid of any truth, because he was imposed on the people of Ohangwena by the powers that be. Mr Nghaamwa proudly revealed this in his inaugural speech when he told those present that his name was sent from Windhoek (Swapo Headquarters). What is more, the RDP is not worried about the fact that the said Governor held a meeting with the headmen, but its concern is about the message the honourable relayed to them. To tell the headmen not to allow RDP members to campaign in their villages, is that not intimidation? Let the playing field be levelled otherwise these elections are never going to be free and fair.* I WOULD like to inform the Governor of the Ohangwena Region that every Namibian has the right to join or affiliate to any political party of his or her choice. Rumour has it that the honourable Governor apparently approached the management of the Engela Hospital to compile a list of all staff members suspected of being RDP members. Please honourable sir, read the Constitution of Namibia to inform yourself.* RDP leadership does not only have problems with time management, but also with loyalty towards its supporters. Look at what the interim president did at Keetmanshoop. Shame, there is no place and support for you in the South.* WHAT kind of leader abandons a meeting because the attendance was poor (Hidipo Hamutenya’s reported no-show at Keetmans RDP rally)? It shows he cannot lead and has no respect for the people of the South.* THE RDP supporters always claim they are intimidated or assaulted by Swapo supporters. All these alleged assaults are just ordinary crime and should not be seen as politically motivated.Education * WE Grade 12s at Haimbili Haufiku are attending classes with a Namcol learner, who failed Grade 12 in 2004. The girl is a daughter of a principal. Is what is happening at our school possible? * THE Grade 10 decree is long overdue. I am a foreigner in this country and I was shocked by this oversight. These children are tomorrow’s leaders and the old system was denying this country of such leaders. Let the ministry work on improving standards but let’s not deprive our children of what’s rightfully theirs.* NAMIBIA, it’s about time to wake up. It’s a fact that there are hard-working and lazy teachers. Do the people out there realise the hardships we as teachers face? Not to mention sitting with 10 Grade 10 classes of which half can’t read nor write. We have an illiterate young population. It’s useless and futile to take back such learners! How can you teach a child that comes to secondary school without any clue of what is expected of him as a future adult. It’s a national scandal! And we expect such learners to pass? * TEACHERS can’t be forced to work until late in the afternoon unless their salaries are adjusted. What do we have: are poor wages (can’t even afford a roof, not to mention a car), ill-mannered children to teach and ungrateful, selfish parents. Don’t be surprised if by January 2009 there are no teachers for those spoiled brats. TUN and Nantu please wake up and fight for us. What’s happening to our membership fees? * TEACHERS are not the only ones to blame for the high failure rate in our country. The students who do not study are responsible for their own failure. Parents cannot blame the lack of reading skills on teachers. They should help their children to read and buy books and magazines to help improve their reading skills. Leave the teachers alone and take responsibility for your children’s education.* THOSE people who say that the teachers must work until 16h00 or 17h00, do you know what you are talking about? What kids do you want us to teach until that time and do you think about schools that already have afternoon classes? Most of the time we the teachers are not at fault, the fault lies with the kids, parents who support their kids and attack teachers and the Ministry of Education for no reason. Every year we are informed that we must make extra files. Right now in lower primary we are sitting with eight files where only three are actually useful to the teaching process, viz the preparation file, assessment file and compensatory file. The other files are for putting minutes of meetings held, and general information and I just wonder how on earth these files contribute to improving the pass rate. We are doing more administrative work by the ministry’s order rather than teaching. Learners must change their attitude, the parents must help us with their kids and the higher authorities revisit your plan.* PLEASE teachers, teach us to pass Grade 10 and 12. You can’t just sit and get paid every month for nothing.* My problem is with the Ministry of Education. When do I qualify for study leave? What are the ministry’s requirements? I applied for study leave and my application was not approved, but I know someone who also applied for it and hers was approved, just because she is a daughter of highly ranked someone in the ministry. Can the ministry respond on this matter please! – Kauna G * I WANT to know the position of the Ministry of Education about the teachers who were admitted for the BETD in-service training programme, who dropped out. I know some in Ohangwena Circuit, Udjombala Cluster. I want to know in which category these teachers fall now, since they are still teaching? * POLYTECHNIC and Unam are you aware that some Zimbabwean nationals are writing assignments on behalf of your students at the Unam centre at Katima Mulilo? * INSTITUTE for Open Learning is a business enterprise. They call us customers not students. They deduct money for textbooks which we don’t receive. Given due dates for assignments are changed orally without notifying their customers working in remote areas. These ignored customers become victims of IOL’s mistakes. Please stick to the due dates communicated to us. – Concerned victim * GRADE 10 teachers are forced to work on weekends and holidays to finish the syllabus. They travel long distances on bad roads because the Government doesn’t construct teachers’ houses in remote areas. Please do something, we’reexhausted. Teachers are increasingly becoming slaves of education.* NEKULILO Omagano Memorial School at Ongwediva has been losing good teachers in the last three years, because of poor treatment by management. As a parent with two children at the school, I implore the workers’ union to visit the school and interview the individual workers to get to the bottom of this matter, because we are paying a lot of money. We are at the point of withdrawing our children, who are now taught in Oshiwambo in upper primary. Something is fishy.* IT is high time for the Government to do the right planning at the right time and with the right people. How could they possibly plan to start a school without all the necessary basic needs for learners? Eheke Senior Secondary School does not have beds and dining hall chairs for the learners yet. And yet we claim the provision of quality education. It is time that the Government acknowledges its failures also. It is not justifiable to claim building schools, which are not fully equipped. In actual fact, it is sloppy planning leading to the high failure rate we witness today.* PRESIDENT Pohamba once said that “It’s either we are failing to plan or planning to fail”. It is now evident that they are failing to plan. How could they just decide to have the Grade 10 failures to repeat without proper planning prior to the decision? Surely! The GRN has successfully failed to plan.* I’M a teacher at the Pionier Boys’ School and am of the opinion that the person writing about the lack of discipline at the school is not properly informed. We teachers at the school never mentioned that we are unsafe. People should stop telling lies to the public. All schools have disciplinary problems of different nature.* I WOULD like the Ministry of Education and Nantu to tell us why they recognise some of Azalia College qualifications and not others.* STUDENT nurses at the Oshakati northern campus are suffering. They have no accommodation and parents have to pay expensive rent in addition to high tuition fees for their children. Can’t the Ministry of Health give allowance to the student nurses to cover some of their expenses? * WE are waiting for the Education Minister to respond to those of us who failed Grade12 and could not enrol with Namcol, because of a lack of study materials. Can you please provide these materials? From the regions * THE Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources is planning to relocate staff of the Hardap Inland Fish Institute to close down the office. This office caters for the Karas, Hardap, Omaheke, Khomas and Erongo regions in aquaculture extension activities. Our understanding is that the ministry is shifting all aquaculture activities to the northern and northeastern regions. What will happen to the southern and central regions concerning aquaculture extension work? It is believed that the ministry has sent a proposal to the Office of the Prime Minister to consider closing down the office in Hardap.* THE councillor for Opuwo Constituency, you were sent to represent Kunene Region in the National Council, but you hardly take our problems to the Chamber. There is no development taking place in your constituency and you do not give feedback to the people who elected you, but when it is election time you will come to the people to tell them to vote for you again so that you can continue running your private businesses as you are currently doing. – M Rutjindo * IT’S a pity how the residents in Tsumeb are being deceived by their municipality. How on earth can you wait for almost two weeks for a toilet to be fixed? Come on, this is ridiculous. Now we have to use the bucket system and call them every day only to be told we should be patient.General * PLEASE Minister of Labour help us with our social security claims at Keetmanshoop. I claimed for my maternity benefit last year November but until now I did not receive anything.