Education ED reminds teachers of their mandate
The ministry of education, arts and culture said the introduction of the Jollyphonics programme will transform literacy rates
Iréne-Mari van der Walt
The ministry of education, arts and culture recently launched the Jollyphonics learning programme in Namibia by hosting a training workshop for teachers, equipping them to teach Jollyphonics.
The executive director for education, Sanet Steenkamp, used the opportunity to remind teachers of their mandate.
“We should be proud public servants. We are gainfully employed. We need to ask ourselves ‘if we are gainfully employed, what is it that we are not getting right?’”
She implored her colleagues to pay special attention to children who are struggling instead of looking away. “When did the Namibian child become a problem? There are children who cannot read a single word after three years of schooling, and such learners are pushed on to become the next person’s problem, but we as the ministry of education will not stand for it,” she said.
Steenkamp noted that in 2018, 100 million youth were said to be illiterate. “We are heading for a national and global disaster if we do not change. We must restore our profession,” she said.
The executive director further urged teachers to usher excitement back into junior primary phase education.
“Bring fun, laughter, joy and playful learning back into our classrooms. You are able to restore that,” she said.
Teachers were also urged to apply learning to local contexts, enabling learners to work with materials and examples that are familiar to them.
“I want us to apply everything we learn to local contexts and work with products the child knows.”
If Steenkamp’s encouragement was not enough, she urged educators to take the N$27 000 000 Jollyphonics is investing into Namibian education as encouragement to turn our education system around. “How can we not be filled with a deep sense of gratitude when they believed in us?”
She added that the ministry also supplemented Jollyphonics’ very welcome aid by adding N$1.8 million of its own funds to the national training programme.
The ministry of education, arts and culture recently launched the Jollyphonics learning programme in Namibia by hosting a training workshop for teachers, equipping them to teach Jollyphonics.
The executive director for education, Sanet Steenkamp, used the opportunity to remind teachers of their mandate.
“We should be proud public servants. We are gainfully employed. We need to ask ourselves ‘if we are gainfully employed, what is it that we are not getting right?’”
She implored her colleagues to pay special attention to children who are struggling instead of looking away. “When did the Namibian child become a problem? There are children who cannot read a single word after three years of schooling, and such learners are pushed on to become the next person’s problem, but we as the ministry of education will not stand for it,” she said.
Steenkamp noted that in 2018, 100 million youth were said to be illiterate. “We are heading for a national and global disaster if we do not change. We must restore our profession,” she said.
The executive director further urged teachers to usher excitement back into junior primary phase education.
“Bring fun, laughter, joy and playful learning back into our classrooms. You are able to restore that,” she said.
Teachers were also urged to apply learning to local contexts, enabling learners to work with materials and examples that are familiar to them.
“I want us to apply everything we learn to local contexts and work with products the child knows.”
If Steenkamp’s encouragement was not enough, she urged educators to take the N$27 000 000 Jollyphonics is investing into Namibian education as encouragement to turn our education system around. “How can we not be filled with a deep sense of gratitude when they believed in us?”
She added that the ministry also supplemented Jollyphonics’ very welcome aid by adding N$1.8 million of its own funds to the national training programme.
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