The Deputy Minister of Education, Arts, and Culture, Faustina Caley, has highlighted the shortage of teaching and learning resources, along with insufficient support, as crucial factors requiring immediate intervention in the Kavango East Region.
Caley made these remarks during a consultative engagement meeting held in Rundu with the Education Sector Leadership and other relevant stakeholders.
The purpose of the Regional Consultation was to solidify the intervention strategies aimed at enhancing performance at all levels by comprehending the respective Regional Performance Improvement Strategies (RPIS).
Caley emphasized that one of the potential underlying reasons for the elevated failure rates could be the presence of inadequate and overcrowded classrooms, particularly in certain schools.
"The Ministry has among others, undertaken the following as immediate interventions necessary to avert the repeat of education outcomes similar to those recorded in the previous academic year. Poor and inadequate education facilities and the shortages of teaching and learning resources are not enough. Inadequate support for teachers to capacitate them with monitoring and evaluation at all levels, whether it is in the classroom, at the school level, the circuit level, regional level or head office."
Caley further highlighted that within the education sector, poor leadership and management practices, including the lack of school visits for inspections, a deficient performance culture, and the absence of a feedback mechanism regarding school activities and remedial plans, represent significant challenges.
"N$40 million has been budgeted for textbooks and the funds will be transferred to regions, starting in July 2023. Nonetheless, the regions have already started with the procurement process and we hope that this process will expedite this process with the speed and urgency it deserves because textbooks are a critical ingredient to the comprehension of subject content."
Some stakeholders shared their views
The Senior Education Officer in the Kavango East Region, Sihungu Sebedens said, "If the teacher is not accurately prepared to execute the lessons effectively, and at the end of the day that teacher is not able to complete the syllabus on time, as a result, learners write the examination without completing the syllabus or some they start very slow and towards the exams they try to rush through and still learners don't understand, so there is a part of the teacher that also results in the failure rates."
"Shortages of classrooms whereby you would find the learners they are still seated on the ground. Due to the un-conducive learners' environment, learners could not cope with the teaching and learning and this narrate to poor results on the performance of the region," said Robert Mushongo Primary School Principal Ndumba Reinhilde Mwingi.