The Education Dilemma

I AGREE with many of the opinions recently expressed about the relevance of Namibian higher education and the employability of its graduates.

But what to do? UNAM has a great campus and facilities, but is riven with financial and ethical scandals, which must give the students low morale and lack of respect for their institution. The Polytechnic, which should concentrate on the noble and necessary task of training marketing managers, magistrates, hotel chefs and computer technicians, has become obsessed with the trappings of status, unfortunately in the African manner, so they want to be a University of Higher This, with Masters of That and Doctors of the other, and they hold mediaeval graduation ceremonies with black caps and gowns and songs sung in Latin! The high school system is abandoning the world-accepted Cambridge system, in favour of (despite vigorous denials) a dumbed-down Namibian school certificate, recognised nowhere else except South Africa, and no doubt emphasising a return to the rote learning approach, which is mainly what traditional school teachers feel comfortable with.A problematic situation, not likely in the near future to produce the trained young people the country needs.Pro-Education WindhoekThe Polytechnic, which should concentrate on the noble and necessary task of training marketing managers, magistrates, hotel chefs and computer technicians, has become obsessed with the trappings of status, unfortunately in the African manner, so they want to be a University of Higher This, with Masters of That and Doctors of the other, and they hold mediaeval graduation ceremonies with black caps and gowns and songs sung in Latin! The high school system is abandoning the world-accepted Cambridge system, in favour of (despite vigorous denials) a dumbed-down Namibian school certificate, recognised nowhere else except South Africa, and no doubt emphasising a return to the rote learning approach, which is mainly what traditional school teachers feel comfortable with.A problematic situation, not likely in the near future to produce the trained young people the country needs.Pro-Education Windhoek