The noble teaching profession is under attack. Those who have daggers drawn against the profession are of the opinion that it is not catering enough for the hundreds of unemployed Namibians who have studied education. 

At the centre of the fire is government’s apparent inability to employ these would-be teachers; most of them fresh graduates. 

The current scenario has cast a worrying cloud over the teaching profession many regard a calling, and not necessarily a gateway to employment. But let’s face it; the reality on the ground is that fresh graduates from teaching institutions would prefer the income derived from teaching – calling or not.

There are many aspects raised as to why the sector is struggling to accommodate all unemployed teachers, with over supply being at the core of these reasons. 

Generally, we are told, there are more teachers than vacancies or openings available. This is especially true in some disciplines, such as lower primary class teaching, English language teaching and the social sciences – to name a few. The worrying trend, however, is that while there are hundreds of unemployed teachers out there, only a few of them specialize in the teaching of indigenous languages.

The situation has naturally led to an under supply of teachers in indigenous languages, most notably Afrikaans and Setswana. This is because very few people study in these fields. For many, pursuing indigenous language teaching qualifications is not worth it. If they ever venture into language studies, the obvious choice is English.

This is where the unemployed graduates are getting it grossly wrong. There are most certainly more opportunities in doing indigenous languages when it comes to employment, given the current under supply.

Indigenous languages are used as the medium of instruction in the lower primary phase (Grades 1-3). English becomes the primary language of instruction from Grade 4 onwards, although indigenous languages continue to be taught as subjects. 

This is owed to governmnet’s policy of promoting indegenous langueges. This policy aims to support children’s learning in their mother tongue while also preparing them for the national language, English.

Grade 4 is designated as a transitional year where the shift to English as the medium of instruction takes place. English becomes the main language of instruction in Grade 5 – 7.

Even in the upper primary phase and beyond, indigenous languages are still included in the curriculum as subjects, promoting language preservation and cultural understanding. 

The policy is based on the understanding that learning in one’s mother tongue is beneficial for early childhood learning and that it helps to preserve cultural diversity. 

The education curriculum recognizes 14 African and European languages as mother-tongue-level languages that can be taught from pre-primary to Grade 12, with Juǀ’hoansi being the only San language recognized as an official language of instruction for Grades 1 to 3

Despite the policy, some parents still opt for English-medium education. This probably has to do with the misconceived belief that the ability to speak English is a measure of intelligence.

The proper comprehension, articulation and understanding of a certain field of interest qualifies more a measure of higher brain activity; not the sheer ability to speak English like a native speaker. Talk of being more catholic than the pope!

This is the teachings that needs to be inculcated into the minds of school going children from a tender age, so that when the time comes for them to choose a field of study, indigenous languages do not unfairly get the cold shoulder. 

It is an open secret that the current teaching market cannot absorb all teachers who graduate from various institutions of higher learning annually. Therefore, an innovative approach through the type of specialisation we take for instance, could go a long way in easing the burden on all involved.