The Director of Education in the Kavango East Region, Christine Shilima, has warned teachers who are engaged in sexual relationships with learners to refrain from such conduct. 

Speaking at the Rundu Circuit Teacher's Conference at Rundu, Shilima said she would stop at nothing but to have such teachers shown the door.

Shilima stated that teachers are supposed to be role models for the learners and ought to conduct themselves professionally at all times.

"No mercy. If it is reported to my office, we will forward the recommendation for the charge; the teacher is fired. There is no warning. For new teachers that we have just recruited, write it down in your diary. If it is reported, there is no verbal warning, no first written warning. If it is reported, it's a straightforward recommendation of the charge from my office to the ED, and a disciplinary committee is instituted."
 
Shilima further stressed that private schools are also contributing to poor results in the Rundu circuit due to individuals who fail to provide standard qualifications when registering private schools.

"When it comes to the actual teachers in the private schools, it is worrisome. Grade 12 qualifications on the ones they attach on the application forms are nowhere to be found. And the poor parents don't know this. And it remains our duty to protect the future of these learners in the private schools. We are going to set up inspectors of each circuit to these private schools to conduct an assessment at the private schools of the profiles of the teachers teaching at the private schools."

The Director of the Rundu UNAM campus, Professor Helena Miranda, urged the teachers to continue advancing their knowledge, especially in the newly technological era. 

"The Fourth Industrial Revolution has presented us with challenges as well as opportunities that we as educators need to take advantage of while paying close attention to how they can inform the way we function in our society. We still need to have the knowledge and the thinking capacity to be able to solve problems that need to be presented to us. We are in an era where a degree is not enough."

The former Director of Education in the Kavango East Region, Sabastian Kantema, emphasised the importance of the teacher's dress code and professionalism.

"The conduct of teachers greatly affects the quality of education provided to learners in public and private schools. Your conduct determines and affects the learners at the school. Learners are the first priority in whatever we do."

There are 1,270 teachers in Rundu Circuit, and 45 new teachers will be recruited in due course.