The Oshana Education Directorate held a one-day meeting to strategize on how best to improve results as well as other pertinent issues.

The Education Director, Hileni Amukana, highlighted that the region has made great strides in improving budget spending and hiring qualified teachers.

Amukana said 99% of the teachers in the region are qualified.

In the same vein, Amukana also reiterated that the region will also reinstate Grade 8 at Gabriel Taapopi, Andimba Toivo ya Toivo, Oshakati, Iipumbu, and Eheke senior secondary schools.

She explained that many learners are migrating to other regions upon completion of Grade 7.

"Our focus for this year will be mostly on continuing professional development. We have a better outlook on the budget, and we want to make sure we are doing that. Number two: we want to intensify the assessment and monitoring of programmes. Assessment, whether it is in teaching and learning in the classroom, the end of term tests, the end of whatever, should be intensified as well as strengthening teaching and learning."

The Minister of Education, Arts, and Culture, Anna Nghipondika, commended Oshana for developing a master plan and urged all the other regions to follow suit to improve their academic performance.

"Consultations to coordinate our intervention strategies in order to improve performance at all levels by understanding what the respective regional performance strategies are. What is it that you are settling for yourself to do? I want every region in Namibia; this is not a once-off activity. Every region must have, at the end of the year, a regional performance improvement strategy reviewed."

The Regional Master Plan for Academic Improvement was designed after a SWOT analysis was conducted early this year with the purpose of reviewing achievements and putting in place a blueprint that will improve learners' performance and development.

The plan has put specific emphasis on assessment, effective teaching, and learning.