Education ministry sets lofty goals
The education ministry aims to increase the number of permanent classrooms in the country by 120 each year.
According to the ministry's new five-year strategic plan, it aims to increase the number of classrooms to 21 600 by 2022.
This will be an increase of 92% from 2017/18 to 95% in 2021/22.
The strategic plan for the period 2017/18 to 2021/22 was launched by education minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa last week and identifies three themes, namely quality, equity and efficiency.
The strategy aims to increase the number of learners qualifying for university by 24% within the next five years.
It aims to improve the qualifying figure of 36% achieved last year to 60% in 2022. The ministry is targeting 40% for this year.
With concern having been expressed over the poor performance in English at schools, the ministry has targeted to increase from a baseline of 28% currently to 50% of pupils obtaining a D grade or higher by 2021/22.
The increase has also been set for mathematics at 20% and physical science 10% for physical science over the five-year period.
With regard to the performance of learners in the National Standardised Achievement Tests, the ministry is targeting a 15% increase at Grade 7 by 2022.
According to the strategic plan, the ministry aims to more than double the proportion of children who have access to at least one year of pre-primary education, from 38% last year to 80% by 2021/22. This amounts to an average 10% increase per year over the next four years. The target to achieve this year is 45%.
The ministry has also set a target to increase the working population that is employed in the cultural industries by 2% over the five-year period.
It also aims to increase access to primary and secondary education by 0.2% to 4% respectively, while it aims to increase adult literacy to 95%.
The ministry further wants to reduce the repetition rate in grades 1, 4 and 8 by from 30.2% to 25%, while it says the percentage increase in regional and public libraries offering internet access must increase to 100%.
The strategy aims to increase educational institutions with access to ICT to 35%.
Teachers' Union of Namibia (TUN) secretary-general Mahagora Kavihuha told Namibian Sun that the targets set by the ministry were reachable if there was political behind it.
“Nothing is impossible,” he said.
With regard to access to pre-primary education, Kavihuha said although the target seemed very high the union wholeheartedly supported it.
However, he added that the quality of education must not be compromised for a higher percentage of access. He referred to the learner/teacher ratio and said there were some classes in Grade 0 where classes have up to 40 learners.
“This is unacceptable and if access to pre-primary levels is improved there needs to be more infrastructure and increased access to materials.”
He referred to the target set to increase classrooms by 120 each year and said that was also reachable, but a lot needed to be taken into account. “The finances, the political will, the right contractors need to be there and there needs to be accountability.”
Kavihuha added that that the main reason why admittance to universities was low was because of poor performance in English, as well as learner frustration with courses at school.
“This first needs to be addressed.”
According to the strategic plan some of the main weaknesses in the education sector are: the poor quality of education as shown in the Standardised Achievement Tests and National Examinations, high repetition and dropout rates, children starting school late, and most children not participating in early childhood development programmes.
Other identified weaknesses are: poor assessment practices, 70% of expenditure on personnel and therefore there is little left for educational materials and learning support, poor quality achieved in small isolated schools and poor conditions at hostels, arts and cultural institutions predominantly in Windhoek.
According to the strategy threats to the sector include the fact that there is limited scope for the government to increase expenditure on education, and increasing teenage and learner pregnancy.
The ministry's targets in its strategic plan for 2012 to 2017, such as improved enrolment for pre-primary, primary and secondary education and the performance of grade 12 learners in national examinations, were not achieved.
ELLANIE SMIT
According to the ministry's new five-year strategic plan, it aims to increase the number of classrooms to 21 600 by 2022.
This will be an increase of 92% from 2017/18 to 95% in 2021/22.
The strategic plan for the period 2017/18 to 2021/22 was launched by education minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa last week and identifies three themes, namely quality, equity and efficiency.
The strategy aims to increase the number of learners qualifying for university by 24% within the next five years.
It aims to improve the qualifying figure of 36% achieved last year to 60% in 2022. The ministry is targeting 40% for this year.
With concern having been expressed over the poor performance in English at schools, the ministry has targeted to increase from a baseline of 28% currently to 50% of pupils obtaining a D grade or higher by 2021/22.
The increase has also been set for mathematics at 20% and physical science 10% for physical science over the five-year period.
With regard to the performance of learners in the National Standardised Achievement Tests, the ministry is targeting a 15% increase at Grade 7 by 2022.
According to the strategic plan, the ministry aims to more than double the proportion of children who have access to at least one year of pre-primary education, from 38% last year to 80% by 2021/22. This amounts to an average 10% increase per year over the next four years. The target to achieve this year is 45%.
The ministry has also set a target to increase the working population that is employed in the cultural industries by 2% over the five-year period.
It also aims to increase access to primary and secondary education by 0.2% to 4% respectively, while it aims to increase adult literacy to 95%.
The ministry further wants to reduce the repetition rate in grades 1, 4 and 8 by from 30.2% to 25%, while it says the percentage increase in regional and public libraries offering internet access must increase to 100%.
The strategy aims to increase educational institutions with access to ICT to 35%.
Teachers' Union of Namibia (TUN) secretary-general Mahagora Kavihuha told Namibian Sun that the targets set by the ministry were reachable if there was political behind it.
“Nothing is impossible,” he said.
With regard to access to pre-primary education, Kavihuha said although the target seemed very high the union wholeheartedly supported it.
However, he added that the quality of education must not be compromised for a higher percentage of access. He referred to the learner/teacher ratio and said there were some classes in Grade 0 where classes have up to 40 learners.
“This is unacceptable and if access to pre-primary levels is improved there needs to be more infrastructure and increased access to materials.”
He referred to the target set to increase classrooms by 120 each year and said that was also reachable, but a lot needed to be taken into account. “The finances, the political will, the right contractors need to be there and there needs to be accountability.”
Kavihuha added that that the main reason why admittance to universities was low was because of poor performance in English, as well as learner frustration with courses at school.
“This first needs to be addressed.”
According to the strategic plan some of the main weaknesses in the education sector are: the poor quality of education as shown in the Standardised Achievement Tests and National Examinations, high repetition and dropout rates, children starting school late, and most children not participating in early childhood development programmes.
Other identified weaknesses are: poor assessment practices, 70% of expenditure on personnel and therefore there is little left for educational materials and learning support, poor quality achieved in small isolated schools and poor conditions at hostels, arts and cultural institutions predominantly in Windhoek.
According to the strategy threats to the sector include the fact that there is limited scope for the government to increase expenditure on education, and increasing teenage and learner pregnancy.
The ministry's targets in its strategic plan for 2012 to 2017, such as improved enrolment for pre-primary, primary and secondary education and the performance of grade 12 learners in national examinations, were not achieved.
ELLANIE SMIT
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