Namibia has been experiencing a surge in student enrolment in primary, secondary, and tertiary education, with a fraction enrolling in vocational colleges. 

This is a sad state of educational affairs, as the situation should be the other way round. Namibia, as a developing country, was expected to reinvest in the country the benefits of vocational education. Vocational education plays a vital role in the overall development of individuals and in societal progress. 

The education system focuses on providing practical skills, technical knowledge, and hands-on training required for specific trades, occupations, or careers. In today’s fast-changing world, vocational education is more important than ever, and countries that have embraced it have developed in many ways. 

However, in Namibia, vocational education is often viewed negatively, as many graduates resent it because they feel it is less prestigious and therefore undermines their dignity. 

Education that enhances the development of practical skills: Unlike traditional academic education, vocational education emphasises skill-based learning. 

It prepares students for specific occupations, including electrician, plumber, nurse, mechanic, fashion designer, computer technician, and many others. 

This practical training helps individuals become job ready. In addition, this type of education fosters graduates’ self-reliance and self-employment, yet prevailing practice in Namibia is to prepare graduates for white-collar jobs. 

Education that is problem-solving oriented: 

In both formal and community settings, instruction should help children and stakeholders solve everyday problems. Dewey viewed education as pragmatic. For example, primary and secondary learners should learn basic carpentry to repair desks and do gardening to grow vegetables and earn income. 

However, Namibian schools still rely on outsiders for repairs, despite vocational education promoting self-reliance, entrepreneurship, and societal contribution. 

Employment opportunities and implementation of a work-oriented curriculum: 

The current formal, more academic curriculum, which encourages diploma-type education, should be replaced. 

In its place, educators should strive to implement a curriculum that is more vocational and self-reliant. 

Like in the education for self-reliance by Julius Nyerere, education must inculcate and reinforce the traditional African socialist values of equality, cooperativeness, and self-reliance. 

It must foster the social goals of living together as communities and lastly as a nation. It should involve the young ones in developing their societies. The youth must learn to integrate practical and intellectual activities and to respect and draw on the stock of knowledge and wisdom accumulated over generations. Education should also prepare young people for work in rural society, where development depends largely on the efforts of people in agriculture and village development (Akinpelu, 1981; Nyerere, 1967). 

Vocational education enhances employability, as industries increasingly require skilled workers rather than merely degree holders. By learning a specific trade, individuals can find jobs more easily or even start their own businesses. 

One of the major problems in many countries is unemployment among educated youth, yet vocational education addresses this issue by equipping students with market-relevant skills and reducing dependence on white-collar jobs. 

Education that supports economic growth: 

Skilled workers are essential for the development of industries and the economy as vocational training produces a competent workforce, increases productivity, and supports national development. It provides opportunities for students who may not excel in traditional academic subjects but have talents in technical or practical fields. It values skills and abilities beyond academic performance. 

As vocational education is essential for personal growth, employment generation, and economic development, the Namibian education landscape should shift rapidly toward the adoption of vocational education, making it compulsory, promoting it, and giving it equal importance to academic education. 

*Prof. Makala Lilemba is an academician, author, diplomat, motivational leader, scholar and researcher.