The Zambezi Education Director, Alex Sikume, says that collaboration, strategy, and dedication paved the way for the region's improved educational outcomes.

The region saw remarkable improvement in the recent Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary results, moving up to 6th place from its previous 10th position and moving up one place to 7th in the Senior Secondary Certificate Advanced Subsidiary.

He attributed this achievement to targeted strategies benefiting both learners and teachers.

Sikume highlighted the implementation of a regional improvement strategy developed in 2024, which served as a roadmap for the directorate.

"One of the things I want to mention is that we had vacation schools that ran during the holidays. That is one of the activities that would have brought significant improvement where we put together Grade 11 and AS-level learners and paired them with skilled, qualified teachers, both local and from other regions, who are proven performers in their respective subjects, and had them engage with those learners, so even from this region and outside, we got a mix of skilled teachers from across."

The director also emphasised the importance of strengthening the region's monitoring systems.

He explained that inspectors and advisory teachers worked closely with educators, providing support in subject content and delivery.

"Our continuous professional development for teachers, when you look at what we have done last year, many of our teachers went through several refresher training courses, so this served significantly just to reskill them so that they improve on that."

Other measures included fast-tracking teacher appointments based on merit, engaging and motivating learners, and providing necessary resources whenever possible.

Sikume also expressed gratitude to the business community for their support, including donations to schools, which have helped create a more conducive learning environment.

He urged them to continue supporting education in the region to sustain progress.