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Sanet Steenkamp, the Executive Director of the Ministry of the Education, Arts and Culture with stakeholders at the launch of a technical assistance programme, designed to improve Early Childhood Development (ECD) and Pre-Primary Education (PPE) throughout Namibia. Photo Contributed
Sanet Steenkamp, the Executive Director of the Ministry of the Education, Arts and Culture with stakeholders at the launch of a technical assistance programme, designed to improve Early Childhood Development (ECD) and Pre-Primary Education (PPE) throughout Namibia. Photo Contributed

Programme launched to boost early childhood development

Otis Daniels
The education, arts and culture ministry launched a technical assistance programme last week aimed at improving early childhood development (ECD) and pre-primary education (PPE) throughout Namibia.

The programme, which forms part of an approximately N$318 million (16 million euro) EU sector reform contract, is being implemented with direct budget support and complimentary technical assistance from a technical assistance team, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

The ministry's executive director, Sanet Steenkamp, said the collaborative effort between government, development partners and NGOs is a testament to a shared commitment to give Namibian children the best start in life. “By working together, we can strengthen early education and help shape a brighter future for our country.”

EU programme manager, Herve Rousseau, said: “Human development and education are key focus areas of our cooperation, ensuring that children develop their full potential. In the medium to long term, our support of ECD lays a strong foundation for a healthy, educated and capacitated workforce.”

Strong foundation

The initiative promotes quality learning by strengthening the capacity of teachers and educators through training and performance assessment. It campaigns for increased access to ECD by supporting the rehabilitation and construction of more ECD classrooms, especially in vulnerable communities.

It will also facilitate access to sustainable feeding programmes and the piloting of feeding programmes in ECD centres serving vulnerable communities. The initiative also seeks to enhance governance by engaging civil society organisations (CSOs), the private sector and parents.

Steenkamp highlighted that the programme sets ambitious goals to improve the quality of early childhood education and care in line with national strategic plans. “It aims to establish a strong foundation for children's future learning and reinforce the capacity of the ministry in critical areas such as spending efficiency through improved public financial management, sector coordination and data management, ECD and PPE awareness and advocacy, service delivery and the quality of teaching and care in ECD and PPE. The ministries are working to scale up access and the quality of services.”

Working together

The education ministry initiative, in collaboration with the gender, poverty eradication, and social welfare ministry with support from the European Union Delegation to Namibia, was officially inaugurated during a kick-off meeting and marked the beginning of a significant effort to enhance educational outcomes for young children in the country.

Technical assistance will be provided by Linpico SARL and a team of experts, including Francois Brand, Jessica Brown and Cassandra Krohne.

The team will work closely with the respective line ministries in conjunction with partners such as Unicef and the WFP funded by the EU to collectively support capacity building to ensure efficient resource management and improved educational outcomes for young Namibians.

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Namibian Sun 2024-10-08

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Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 621.97/OZ DOWN -0.008 | Copper US$ 4.45/lb DOWN -0.0186 | Zinc US$ 3 096.00/T UP 0.12% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 77.96/BBP DOWN -0.0451 | Platinum US$ 953.92/OZ DOWN -0.0175 Sport results: Premier League: Brighton 3 vs 2 Tottenham Hotspur | Chelsea 1 vs 1 Nottingham Forest | Aston Villa 0 vs 0 Manchester United | Everton 0 vs 0 Newcastle | West Ham 4 vs 1 Ipswich Town | Manchester City 3 vs 2 Fulham | Leicester City 1 vs 0 Bournemouth | Brentford 5 vs 3 Wolves | Arsenal 3 vs 1 Southampton | Crystal Palace 0 vs 1 Liverpool LaLiga: Real Sociedad 1 vs 1 Atletico Madrid | Sevilla 1 vs 0 Real Betis | Deportivo Alaves 0 vs 3 Barcelona | Girona 2 vs 1 Athletic Club | Real Madrid 2 vs 0 Villarreal | Real Valladolid 1 vs 2 Rayo Vallecano | Las Palmas 0 vs 1 Celta Vigo | Getafe 1 vs 1 Osasuna | Espanyol 2 vs 1 Mallorca SerieA: Fiorentina 2 vs 1 AC Milan | Monza 1 vs 1 AS Roma | SS Lazio 2 vs 1 Empoli | Bologna 0 vs 0 Parma | Juventus 1 vs 1 Cagliari | Inter Milan 3 vs 2 Torino | Atalanta 5 vs 1 Genoa | Udinese 1 vs 0 Lecce European Championships Qualifying: Bristol City 1 vs 1 Cardiff City | West Bromwich Albion 0 vs 0 Millwall FC | Watford 2 vs 1 Middlesbrough | Swansea City 0 vs 0 Stoke City | Sheffield United 2 vs 0 Luton Town | Plymouth Argyle 2 vs 1 Blackburn Rovers | Derby County 2 vs 0 Queens Park Rangers | Coventry City 1 vs 2 Sheffield Wednesday | Portsmouth 1 vs 1 Oxford United | Norwich City 4 vs 0 Hull City | Burnley 0 vs 0 Preston North End English Championship: Bristol City 1 vs 1 Cardiff City | West Bromwich Albion 0 vs 0 Millwall FC | Watford 2 vs 1 Middlesbrough | Swansea City 0 vs 0 Stoke City | Sheffield United 2 vs 0 Luton Town | Plymouth Argyle 2 vs 1 Blackburn Rovers | Derby County 2 vs 0 Queens Park Rangers | Coventry City 1 vs 2 Sheffield Wednesday | Portsmouth 1 vs 1 Oxford United | Norwich City 4 vs 0 Hull City | Burnley 0 vs 0 Preston North End Weather: Katima Mulilo: 18° | 36° Rundu: 17° | 38° Eenhana: 19° | 38° Oshakati: 20° | 37° Ruacana: 19° | 37° Tsumeb: 21° | 35° Otjiwarongo: 17° | 34° Omaruru: 18° | 34° Windhoek: 17° | 31° Gobabis: 20° | 33° Henties Bay: 13° | 19° Wind speed: 22km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 11:38, High tide: 06:00, Low Tide: 00:09, High tide: 18:07 Swakopmund: 13° | 15° Wind speed: 24km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:36, High tide: 05:58, Low Tide: 00:07, High tide: 18:05 Walvis Bay: 13° | 20° Wind speed: 29km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 11:36, High tide: 05:57, Low Tide: 00:07, High tide: 18:04 Rehoboth: 17° | 33° Mariental: 21° | 35° Keetmanshoop: 21° | 36° Aranos: 21° | 35° Lüderitz: 10° | 20° Ariamsvlei: 20° | 37° Oranjemund: 13° | 22° Luanda: 23° | 24° Gaborone: 18° | 30° Lubumbashi: 17° | 35° Mbabane: 13° | 28° Maseru: 13° | 27° Antananarivo: 13° | 26° Lilongwe: 19° | 32° Maputo: 18° | 30° Windhoek: 17° | 31° Cape Town: 16° | 22° Durban: 16° | 24° Johannesburg: 16° | 27° Dar es Salaam: 24° | 31° Lusaka: 18° | 32° Harare: 16° | 29° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 22.97 | EUR to NAD 19.27 | CNY to NAD 2.49 | USD to NAD 17.57 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.65 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.16 | RUB to NAD 0.18 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 132.63 | USD to AOA 905 | USD to BWP 13.24 | USD to EGP 48.55 | USD to KES 128.5 | USD to NGN 1628.3 | USD to ZAR 17.56 | USD to ZMW 26.45 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1839.33 Down -1.67% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14019.63 Down -0.97% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 30851.63 Down -3.04% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9661.12 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 621.97/OZ DOWN -0.008 | Copper US$ 4.45/lb DOWN -0.0186 | Zinc US$ 3 096.00/T UP 0.12% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 77.96/BBP DOWN -0.0451 | Platinum US$ 953.92/OZ DOWN -0.0175