Parents’ association formed in Kavango

An organisation aiming to be the voice of parents in education has been formed in the Kavango East Region, and aims to ensure equitable access to quality education in Namibia.

According to National Organisation of Parents in Education (NAOPE) founding member Paulus Hawanga, gone are the days when the interests of parents is sidelined.

He said with the establishment of NAOPE, parents will have an audible voice when it comes to education matters.

Since Namibia gained independence, the voices of teachers and learners have represented by various unions, while parents - despite being represented by school boards - are under-represented, he argued.

“This [NAOPE] came about from having known that there is no parents’ organisation; there is no union that is representing parents,” Hawanga said.

“The teachers have their own union and the learners have their own but when it comes to the parents, we feel there is no voice for us, an active voice that is consistent and audible in terms of what we advocate for, what parents desire and what we want to see and consider as equitable and quality education for our children.”

Anyone can join

Hawanga said that NAOPE currently constitutes only of members from the Kavango regions, however the plan is to expand to all 14 regions.

He added that they were given the green light by the various education ministries to forge ahead with the formation of NAOPE.

In terms of who can join NAOPE, Hawanga said any person is welcome to become a member, be it the biological or guardian of a child who is enrolled at either a private or government school.

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