The Education Conference: We Found Love

The Manhattans, an African American music group, had a tune that said ‘… Now that we found love what are we going to do with it?’ Yes, this was much earlier than Ben Zaaruka and the Baronages or Johnny Adams and the Ugly Creatures.

(Just by the way, did you know that Ben Zaaruka of BENZ used to be a prolific musical artist with a captivating style on stage?). We found love from the nation and the international community heaped their best wishes and support during our education conference. The indaba was so exciting that by its last day it seemed as if it had just started. When Abraham Iyambo was appointed Minister of Education the environment was filled with a mixture of hope and apprehension. He crafted an un-assuming approach and true to how astute academics operate, his resolve was to first make an in logo assessment. He was coming from Fisheries and that portfolio hardly kept him inland proper. He thus needed to have a feel of how those involved with education really felt. When I worked as Dean of Students at the University of Namibia I would visit secondary schools to popularise tertiary education among the learners. One day I visited a school in Tsumeb and as I was about to leave, one teacher a Unam graduate, said: ‘Uncle Bob! Kry vir my tog werk in Windhoek toe?’ (get me a job in Windhoek) When I asked why Windhoek she said: ‘you see Uncle Bob, there are no gymnasiums in Tsumeb, en n’ mens raak vet hierso’ (There are no gyms in Tsumeb and one only gets fat here). While this may sound trivial to the casual observer, these are the considerations that some of the educators may put up with when they have to work at field schools. And it is not just coincidental that there is a symbiotic relationship between the quality of education in the metropolis and the concomitant quality of teachers.Abraham Iyambo sparked a trend that many newly assigned Ministers to any portfolio must emulate: that of the propensity to have the finger on the pulse in the process of contemplating interventions. Education needs in Namibia do differ from region to region and from school to school in the same region or city. Look at Windhoek and you will agree. While some upper-class schools in Windhoek resemble hotels, schools such as Augeikas and Theo Katjimune are battling to have proper writing boards and lavatories. So much can be said about the state of education in Namibia, but with the current thrust by the Minister, his Deputy and their ground crew, the nation must confidently place itself in their hands while keeping their fingers on the pulse and occasionally asking the question: now that we found love, what are we going to do with it?During my time with Black Africa Soccer Club I used to say this to Ronny Kanalelo, our first choice goal keeper: ‘when an opponent is taking a penalty kick, keep your eyes on the ball, not on his body swings’. And I would say this to Bobby Samaria when he was about to take a penalty kick: ‘when you take a penalty kick, keep your eyes on the ball, not on the dance by the goalkeeper of the opposing team.My last word goes to Abraham Iyambo and David Namwandi: Keep your eyes on the ball and do not be swayed by the body swings of us your critiques. Remember this ball is complex and deserves your focus and all your energies. Congratulations Brothers and good luck all the way.

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