Faith !Horases, who was a grade 11 learner at Academia Secondary School, in her opinion piece in New Era dated 09 November 2022 raised a concern about the challenges faced by both teachers and learners with the current education system. 

She intimated that the current system was causing chaos within secondary schools. Her analysis and those from other analysts and media could have served as a warning of what to expect with the results. 

While the recent result could have agitated many, red lights were there since the dawn of independence when many learners were dumped in the streets either through dropout or failure at the JSC (grade 10) or NSSO/H level (Grade 12). 

These learners are the ones who are part of the youth unemployment data and terrorising people. The disillusion could also be attributed to the fact that citizens expect an improvement each year rather than a decline. Therefore, blaming a particular group will be unfair as there is a combination of factors (an infrastructural deficiency, ill-disciplined learners, shortage of teaching and learning resources, overcrowded classrooms, late disbursement and inadequate education grants, lack of policy implementation, minimal parental involvement, bureaucratic procedures (appointment of teachers), and quality of teachers (attitude, commitment and knowledge content) that are key to the recent pathetic results. 

Shifting the blame to school managers and teachers instead of admitting to the shortfall of the education system will be suicidal. As much as I agree that some school managers and teachers are to blame for the results, blaming them entirely will be unfair as schools face a myriad of challenges, as indicated above. These challenges talked about might not be common to all schools, but most schools in the country are faced with one or more of these issues. While the education system might be justifiable, its introduction was not well-thought-out in terms of adequate and quality resources (human, physical and financial). Any education reform is expected to improve the quality and equality of education, and should bear tangible fruits. Education should provide a way out of the poverty trap, but the agony of the current education system is that it is adding to the youth unemployment and inequality statistics. The economic revival of any country is inextricably linked to the success of the education system. Education is a robust predictor of labour market outcomes in terms of employment and earnings, and thus is a key determinant of economic growth. Therefore, the failure of the education system has an intense effect on the economy. It not only fails the majority of learners, but also weakens the labour force. It hampers the market`s absorption of those with fewer skills, and limits their contribution to economic growth. Vision 2030 has set a very ambitious target that, by 2030, Namibia will join the ranks of high-income countries and afford all its citizens a quality of life that is comparable to that of the developed world. This dream remains unrealistic, considering the number of learners who are or were dumped in the street. The desire and expectation of any parent, society or government is that children should receive a good education to enhance their personal development, and transform them into good citizens. Such aspirations are encapsulated in the belief that the rich intellectual heritage derived from the accumulation of human capital is not crucial for individual progression, but is also vital for long-term economic growth and development. For this to be possible, it is crucial that all stakeholders must be honest enough and address some critical challenges if we want to see the revival of the economy and the reduction of youth unemployment and inequality. As much as the excitement of green hydrogen and oil discovery is dominating, the continuous poor result should keep all progressive citizens awake because, without skilled human resources, the benefits from those envisaged resources will be minimal, or will only benefit the children of the elites who are fortunate to be sent to private schools.

Schools experience various problems every day that in turn affect student learning negatively. Although school administrators and teachers strive to resist these challenges, it is usually hard. A teacher or administrator can only do so much to motivate a learner: Ultimately, it is up to the learner to decide whether to change. Unfortunately, there are many learners in schools nationally with tremendous potential who choose not to live up to that standard. A study I conducted titled ‘Substance Use Dilemma in Secondary Schools: A Case of Rundu Education Circuit, Kavango East Region, Namibia’, found that some learners went to school inebriated, which led to indiscipline among learners. Issues associated with discipline lead to distractions, which in turn accumulate to reduced learning time. Another study I also carried out titled ‘Universal Education Grants and Quality Education: The Experience of Kavango East Region Schools, Namibia’, showed that the late and inadequate education grant disbursement hampered the efficiency and effectiveness of teaching and learning. Both studies were conducted last year (2022). A number of schools start the academic year with no stationaries and textbooks, and have to rely on photocopied handouts while there is no money to buy photocopy paper, master rolls and toner. If you ask many teachers today, especially the more experienced ones, they will tell you that they are only staying on because they don`t have a choice.

When schools fail, school managers and teachers almost always take the brunt of the blame. This is somewhat understandable, but the responsibility of educating should not fall solely on the school. This deferred shift in educational responsibility is one of the greatest reasons for a perceived decline in public schools across Namibia. 

A number of those criticising teachers were once teachers themselves, and have experienced the same challenges while at school. It is also demoralising that education inspectors and education officers, once they get to regional offices, are under the illusion that things improved after leaving the teaching arena and become bossy and shame teachers when visiting schools, leading to further frustrations. If any hope is to be revived, going forward, shifting blame will not be the panacea, but taking cognisance of suggestions made by different commentators and stakeholders will be vital. Avoiding the elephant in the room will just continue demoralising those who are trying their level best under the chaotic education system. 

I also agree that we don't need teachers who act like wheelbarrows in schools and expect policing from the management, but need teachers who are passionate and positive about teaching. Teachers and school managers who inspire positivity in learners, and not those who stress fellow teachers and learners. Therefore, those who question the commitment of some school administrators and teachers can spend a week in a public school to witness the commitment and discipline of learners as well as teaching and learning resources’ challenges to judge for themselves where the major problem is. Under such circumstances, blaming the failure of learners squarely on school managers and teachers is probably the most natural thing to do, but that misses the picture completely.