Minister of Education, Arts, and Culture Anna Nghipondoka officially launched the IMN Technology Mentorship Institute (IMN Tech) in the capital this week.
It is aimed at equipping Namibians with technological skills.
In her address, Nghipondoka said the Namibian education sector lags in terms of global trends and standards in the provision of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) education, which is inclusive of robotics, coding, artificial intelligence, internet of things, and other smart technologies.
“STEAM education contributes to the development of cognitive and non-cognitive skills such as computational thinking, logical reasoning, new-age technology, product design, design thinking, self-awareness, collaboration, creativity, resilience and communication.
This opens doors to careers in medicine, product design, business entertainment, fashion, education, agriculture, mining, to mention but a few,” Nghipondoka said.
The education minister said for the 2023/2024 financial year, the ministry of education has budgeted N$30 million to procure information technology hardware and software for schools as per the national conference on education implementation plan.
This translates to N$750 000 per computer lab at 42 secondary schools across the country (three schools per region).
Each computer lab will be equipped with 40 desktop computers, one uninterrupted power supply, network accessories, one teacher laptop, a wireless printer, and a server, giving a total of 1 680 desktop computers, she said.
Also speaking during the inauguration was IMN Tech founder Irvine Ndjavera, who said the business is only a month old.
“We did not start from scratch; we committed and partnered with a company or institution similar to ours in India called Avishkaar,” Ndjavera said.
IMN Tech was started to solve the educational technological skills gaps from the school level to the job market and provide sustainable technological business solutions needed to develop Namibia in a fourth industrial revolution-compatible country, he said.
“IMN’s tech vision is to assist the Namibian educational sector, prepare, and train competent, technologically advanced Namibians who are ready to develop a competitive Namibian economy in the global space of the fourth industrial revolution while re-skilling the Namibian workforce to adapt to the job market requirements,” Ndjavera said.
-Nampa