The Chief Regional Officer for Omaheke Region has called on stakeholders to motivate learners to take their education seriously.
Pecka Semba says discipline amongst learners is one of the biggest challenges, and the education ministry alone cannot address this.
He said this during a back-to-school prayer session held at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Gobabis.
According to the Chief Regional Officer, Pecka Semba, "the way some children grow up is a cause for concern, as their behavior greatly contributes to poor performance at the school."
He singled out alcohol abuse among learners, which he says should be considered one of the contributing factors to poor performance.
"The best proposal for getting better exam results, actually having disciplined children, is to bring back the culture of parenting. The culture of parenting is lost in our society. Children are on the streets, and sometimes you think they are homeless. That is a very critical issue. We must bring back parenting. Who gives them permission to be there? Our first priority is to regain custody of our children, who must be home and disciplined."
The CRO says that through his office, they're also advocating for various engagements across all sectors that should play pivotal roles in supporting the education sector.
On her part, the Acting Regional Education Director, Constance Wantenaar, emphasized that education is a shared responsibility and churches also have a big role to play in transforming children into responsible groups.
"We have a lot of things we are going to do; we shall have a meeting next week with senior teachers and also performance dialogue as well as, most importantly, a teachers' conference."
One of the church's elders, Willem Wermann, had this to say: "Before independence, churches were there to help the community and show the community the importance of education. Fellow Namibians, the only message I have is that we must start at home with education so that everyone can follow in the footsteps of our parents."
The back-to-school prayer session was attended by some learners.