Schools not equipped for new curriculum – LPM
• Govt to blame, youth group says
Namibia is not making inroads on the education front - despite allocating a large portion of the budget towards the sector, Ndala said.
The Landless People’s Movement (LPM) Youth Command says government has failed to equip teachers to teach Advanced Subsidiary (AS) level.
This follows the release of grade 11 results recently by the education ministry.
“What we have analysed is that most teachers did not get training so that they are well aligned with the new curriculum. We have noticed that there is not sufficient learning material that could supplement the new curriculum,” LPM youth leader Duminga Ndala said.
Another issue is the lack of adequate infrastructure to enhance the learning the process, she said.
“A lot of schools do not still have textbooks. Also, in terms of infrastructure development, this curriculum requires schools to have adequate laboratories and libraries, but we have seen a lot of our schools do not have these things. All these factors contribute.”
So much money
Namibia is further not making inroads on the education front - despite allocating a large portion of the budget towards the sector, according to Ndala.
For the 2023 fiscal year, government allocated N$16.2 billion to education.
“Despite so much money being pumped into education, this money is not being used efficiently; it is being channelled to salaries instead of learner and teacher development and supportive initiatives.”
Ndala also called on government to introduce enhanced monitoring and evaluation to ensure gains made could be measured, and where there were challenges, they could be picked up.
“There is no proper monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in schools to review, evaluate and monitor whether the curriculum is implemented as it should be. Perhaps [we should] start having this honest conversation of how we can improve and ensure that this curriculum is well implemented throughout the country,” she said.
This follows the release of grade 11 results recently by the education ministry.
“What we have analysed is that most teachers did not get training so that they are well aligned with the new curriculum. We have noticed that there is not sufficient learning material that could supplement the new curriculum,” LPM youth leader Duminga Ndala said.
Another issue is the lack of adequate infrastructure to enhance the learning the process, she said.
“A lot of schools do not still have textbooks. Also, in terms of infrastructure development, this curriculum requires schools to have adequate laboratories and libraries, but we have seen a lot of our schools do not have these things. All these factors contribute.”
So much money
Namibia is further not making inroads on the education front - despite allocating a large portion of the budget towards the sector, according to Ndala.
For the 2023 fiscal year, government allocated N$16.2 billion to education.
“Despite so much money being pumped into education, this money is not being used efficiently; it is being channelled to salaries instead of learner and teacher development and supportive initiatives.”
Ndala also called on government to introduce enhanced monitoring and evaluation to ensure gains made could be measured, and where there were challenges, they could be picked up.
“There is no proper monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in schools to review, evaluate and monitor whether the curriculum is implemented as it should be. Perhaps [we should] start having this honest conversation of how we can improve and ensure that this curriculum is well implemented throughout the country,” she said.
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