Agnes Edward
The education system in Namibia has changed drastically since independence in 1990. Before Namibia gained its freedom, education in the country was easy and cheap, but it was not as impactful as the current curriculum. Therefore, the ministry of education in Namibia introduced a new curriculum since 2018 until date. The Namibian government, unfortunately, is now heavily in debt as a consequence of the challenges this new curriculum in schools has created.
Namibia’s new curriculum was developed to promote national development, and ensure that the nation’s educational system can adapt to the constant social change that occurs. Changes in the curriculum have, however, increased the ministry of education’s funding.
The educators have demanded for increments, reasoning that they are loaded with tasks which are not equal to what they are earning. Some school administrators requested and pleaded to the government to construct new buildings, new infrastructure and most importantly buy equipment and books. Some scholars have complained that their schools do not have proper facilities to cater for the new curricula.
Moreover, some learners argued that this new curriculum is failing them because it is complicated and demanding. The new curriculum requires schools to have computers, internet and technicians. All these have increased the budget for the ministry. The designers of the new curriculum stated that for the country to grow at the same pace as other nations, the way of teaching and learning need to keep evolving.
When this curriculum commenced initially, many students failed due to not comprehending the contents taught. Some youngsters’ scholastic futures are in ruins after they were abandoned on the streets as an outcome of failure. This has made the parents of the pupils expressing their views concerning the new curricula. Some parents concluded that Namibia is imitating other countries’ educational systems and their contents, but they did not consider that Namibia is a developing country.
Some studies have shown that since the commencement of this new curriculum, the number of learners dropping out of school has excessively increased. Some former learners claimed that the new curriculum is meant for learners who can afford to buy laptops and smartphones. Even though it was not made compulsory for each learner to own a laptop, this has led to rich kids purchasing laptops and smartphones, but leaving poor children feeling unequal. Some parents have gotten themselves into debts because of trying to buy their children’s school stationeries. Some studies exposed the views of teachers who narrated that they are not prepared nor trained to instruct the contents of the new curriculum.
Therefore, for Namibia to get rid of this debt scandal, the government must make sure they are ready to embark on this new journey of teaching new content. Some scholars suggested that each town must have free internet and a library to help promote and facilitate learning. The government is urged to invest more in education as this will help tackle issues pertaining to the education system. Personal development for educators must be promoted to help teachers develop new ways of teaching. In Nelson Mandela’s view, “education is the greatest enabler”.