KARASBURG – Different stakeholders met at Karasburg for the two-day //Kharas Education Conference to discuss education matters.
This year’s education conference in // Kharas was held under the theme “Education a collective responsibility for quality outcomes.”
Addressing the conference last week Thursday the Deputy Minister of Education, Arts and Culture, Anna Nghipondoka, focused on explaining the importance of collective responsibility by all stakeholders for a quality education for the Namibian child.
She pointed out that collective responsibility refers to the pulling together of efforts, resources and ideas towards a common goal or vision and that it has a connotation of unity, shared ownership and accountability.
“Collective responsibility negates the aspect of finger pointing when things don’t go well and claiming victory when all go well,” she said.
Nghipondoka noted that education is not a one-man show but a joint venture wherein all citizens have the responsibility that has an influence on what happens at school.
She elaborated that parents are the key to setting a scene for their children’s learning by meeting their basic needs, while children are the ones responsible for maintaining a receptive stance to learning and guidance and thus should recognise the learning opportunity and not waste it.
The teachers according to her have the actual responsibility to impart knowledge, while officials at the head offices and circuit offices have a role to play in ensuring the fast availability of teaching and learning materials as well as qualified human resources at all levels.
Emphasising the importance of team work she noted that although learners are the ones seen to be the beneficiaries of education it’s not the case because education is a lifelong venture which impacts “all of us in different ways and thus all should take part to make it better”.
“For a diamond to be appreciated it needs a source of light to indicate its colours, beauty and flawlessness and a human being to express it,” she said referring to inclusivity in education.
On the same platform she expressed her ministry’s readiness to build from where others left off in improving teachers’ living conditions, improving the availability of qualified teachers, classrooms and hostels.
Nghipondoka said these would be addressed by looking into ways to shorten if not doing away with bureaucratic processes which causes unnecessary delays in coming up with one single building.
The event included a panel discussion in the evening by people from various sectors with teachers, parents and learners in the audience