Who Should Be Blamed For Poor Learning Outcomes?

READING the articles by Dr Andrew Clegg and Professor Brian Harlech-Jones, in The Namibian of 19 and 27 January 2007, respectively, I am motivated to add to this important debate on the challenges facing our education system today.

The Ministry of Education has realised the importance of early-childhood development (ECD) and is now putting in motion a programme to address that sector under the Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP). Early-childhood education is an investment that can offer outstanding returns, in terms of education, human and social development.It can ensure that all children receive the education that is their right and not a privilege.However, the right to access to early-childhood education becomes indefinable if Government spends very little of its resources on early-childhood education, as is currently the case.Many children in Namibia are denied access to early childhood education due to poverty, disability, diseases (HIV-AIDS, TB) or other hindrances (OVCs).However, have we ever thought that the cost of providing a year’s ECD for all children will be less than the current subsidy paid to the very few private schools in Namibia? I hope that with the introduction of ETSIP, adequate financial resources will be provided to this sector to ease the burden of the majority of those poor parents who would like to offer their children a Head Start but cannot due to poverty.Children who have not benefited from attending early childhood and pre-primary education tend to be left behind by their peers who have had such an opportunity.In a classroom of 35 children, for example, the teacher would normally give more attention to learners who are progressing well and label those who experience barriers as having special needs in learning.Some children come from homes where the medium of communication, in this case English is never used, let alone in the neighbourhood.As a result, the child does not understand any instructions being provided in any subject.He/she remains behind and is later termed a failure or school dropout.Have we ever considered, among others, the teacher who is failing to communicate well to this child in English, which may also not be the teachers’ 1st language? Within formal education, children with special needs do poorly, fail classes or drop out of school at a very early age.As a result, they become further marginalised in society and are called failures and dropouts.They become vulnerable to the ills of society, including drug abuse, prostitution, disease, especially HIV-AIDS and crime.We hear the media reporting about ‘failures’ and ‘dropouts’.Who decides who is a failure and who is not? Have we ever thought that teachers have special needs in teaching? Early childhood and pre-primary education play a significant role in contributing to a child’s successes later in school.Clegg alluded to the importance of language, reading, writing and arithmetic skills at primary education.These are skills that children are usually exposed to during their early learning years at early-childhood and pre-primary education.Benefits derived from early-childhood education include success at school, low repetition rates and early intervention for children with special needs.It is therefore important to develop and/or reorient programmes that will promote physical, intellectual, moral and social development, not forgetting our cultural values.Studies have revealed that the majority of ECD educators (70%), out of a total sample of 650 respondents in all 13 regions across Namibia, are currently teaching with less than a Grade 12 qualification.Many of them are equally not fluent in the use of English as a language of instruction.If we are to improve on the future results of our learners, I recommend that the education system pays more attention to early-childhood and pre-primary education.ECD must be officially recognised as an important aspect of education and advocated for; the need to improve competencies of educators and develop strategies and capacity-building programmes for institutions offering training in ECD.With the introduction of ETSIP pre-primary education will become the new responsibility of Education while early-childhood education remains with Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare.It is very important to ensure that the two ministries talk to each other in terms of education reform and curriculum development, teacher education and any other policy issues related to early childhood education and formal education.The importance of setting up a cross-sectoral committee specifically addressing early childhood, pre-primary and basic education cannot be overemphasised.Such a committee should be able to influence the two ministries especially regarding policy related decisions.The entire system, school, teachers and classroom and the community at large, should be held accountable for poor learning outcomes.It is important we consider how the current education system and the lack of an adequate early childhood education system have adverse effects on the entire Namibian education system.* The author, Aune Naanda, has a PhD in Specialised EducationEarly-childhood education is an investment that can offer outstanding returns, in terms of education, human and social development.It can ensure that all children receive the education that is their right and not a privilege.However, the right to access to early-childhood education becomes indefinable if Government spends very little of its resources on early-childhood education, as is currently the case.Many children in Namibia are denied access to early childhood education due to poverty, disability, diseases (HIV-AIDS, TB) or other hindrances (OVCs).However, have we ever thought that the cost of providing a year’s ECD for all children will be less than the current subsidy paid to the very few private schools in Namibia? I hope that with the introduction of ETSIP, adequate financial resources will be provided to this sector to ease the burden of the majority of those poor parents who would like to offer their children a Head Start but cannot due to poverty.Children who have not benefited from attending early childhood and pre-primary education tend to be left behind by their peers who have had such an opportunity.In a classroom of 35 children, for example, the teacher would normally give more attention to learners who are progressing well and label those who experience barriers as having special needs in learning.Some children come from homes where the medium of communication, in this case English is never used, let alone in the neighbourhood.As a result, the child does not understand any instructions being provided in any subject.He/she remains behind and is later termed a failure or school dropout.Have we ever considered, among others, the teacher who is failing to communicate well to this child in English, which may also not be the teachers’ 1st language? Within formal education, children with special needs do poorly, fail classes or drop out of school at a very early age.As a result, they become further marginalised in society and are called failures and dropouts.They become vulnerable to the ills of society, including drug abuse, prostitution, disease, especially HIV-AIDS and crime.We hear the media reporting about ‘failures’ and ‘dropouts’.Who decides who is a failure and who is not? Have we ever thought that teachers have special needs in teaching? Early childhood and pre-primary education play a significant role in contributing to a child’s successes later in school.Clegg alluded to the importance of language, reading, writing and arithmetic skills at primary education.These are skills that children are usually exposed to during their early learning years at early-childhood and pre-primary education.Benefits derived from early-childhood education include success at school, low repetition rates and early intervention for children with special needs.It is therefore important to develop and/or reorient programmes that will promote physical, intellectual, moral and social development, not forgetting
our cultural values.Studies have revealed that the majority of ECD educators (70%), out of a total sample of 650 respondents in all 13 regions across Namibia, are currently teaching with less than a Grade 12 qualification.Many of them are equally not fluent in the use of English as a language of instruction.If we are to improve on the future results of our learners, I recommend that the education system pays more attention to early-childhood and pre-primary education.ECD must be officially recognised as an important aspect of education and advocated for; the need to improve competencies of educators and develop strategies and capacity-building programmes for institutions offering training in ECD.With the introduction of ETSIP pre-primary education will become the new responsibility of Education while early-childhood education remains with Ministry of Gender Equality and Child Welfare.It is very important to ensure that the two ministries talk to each other in terms of education reform and curriculum development, teacher education and any other policy issues related to early childhood education and formal education.The importance of setting up a cross-sectoral committee specifically addressing early childhood, pre-primary and basic education cannot be overemphasised.Such a committee should be able to influence the two ministries especially regarding policy related decisions.The entire system, school, teachers and classroom and the community at large, should be held accountable for poor learning outcomes.It is important we consider how the current education system and the lack of an adequate early childhood education system have adverse effects on the entire Namibian education system.* The author, Aune Naanda, has a PhD in Specialised Education