Collins Limbo
WINDHOEK – The National Road Safety Council (NRSC) and National Institute for Educational Development (NIED) in conjunction with Road Traffic Management Services (RTMS) held a road safety education training workshop last Friday at Emmanuel Shifidi Secondary School.
The event provided a platform for the training of Grade 10 and 11 teachers from Khomas region on how to provide road safety education to learners.
At least 70 teachers from 35 secondary schools in Khomas attended the workshop, together with the Regional Director of Education, Arts and Culture Gerard Vries, members of the City Police, Namibian Police, National Road Safety Council (NRSC), National institute for Educational Development (NIED) and school learners.
The main focus of the workshop was on road safety education and formed part of the activities planned by the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture to infuse and integrate road safety programmes or subjects in the formal school curriculum.
Teaching school-going children enrolled at early childhood development (ECD) centres as well as secondary schools on how to behave on roads is regarded as an important element of road safety.
Speaking at the occasion Vries said road safety education refers to the ways or methods and measures undertaken to prevent road users, that is the pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, vehicle passengers, horse riders, passengers on road public transport, which are buses and taxis, from being killed or injured. He said the process will enable these groups to obtain the necessary knowledge, skills, and develop attitudes towards making well informed decisions when confronted with road traffic situations.
“Dear principals, heads of departments and teachers present at this workshop, this training of teachers on road safety education that you are undergoing today, and other similar training workshops that would follow, are aimed at equipping you with the skills and knowledge necessary to make use of the teaching resources and strategies to transform our young children and learners into responsible road users,’’ he said.
He further applauded the work done by the NRSC in bringing about implementation of the infusion of road safety education to form part of the national school curriculum. ‘’I really commend the efforts of the National Road Safety Council that has brought the implementation of the integration of road safety education into the national school curriculum thus far,’’ he said.