Windhoek
The Teacher’s Union of Namibia (TUN) has attributed the high failure rate among Grade 12 learners to the perennial shortage of teachers at many schools.
In the past learners and parents have lamented the shortage of teachers in crucial subjects at countless schools across the country. TUN made its comment following the release of this year’s Grade 12 Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate (NSSC) Ordinary Level results on Wednesday.
Only 6 056 learners out of 20 301, who sat for the Grade 12 NSSC Ordinary Level qualify for admission to tertiary institutions, compared to last year when 7 536 learners qualified to enter tertiary institutions. TUN secretary general Mahongora Kavihuha yesterday said the shortage of teachers should be squarely blamed on government for not coming up with a solution to the problem that crops up every year.
Kavihuha advised the Education Ministry to start recruiting unemployed university graduates across the country in permanent teaching positions. “For instance, graduates in the financial sectors can be employed in a permanent position as a teacher and then he or she can go through teacher’s training,” he explained.
Kavihuha said the current policy by government of recruiting graduates on a one-year contract basis was not working, therefore it is very important for graduates to be recruited on a permanent basis. Last year government advertised vacancies to recruit 6 638 staff members, of which 5 131 are teaching positions and 1 507 non-teaching and unified staff posts.
Kavihuha also blames the lack of proper planning, proper consultation as factors that contributed to the poor results. He said union leaders and teachers are not consulted when it comes to setting up the curriculum. According to him this has led to the phasing out of the Teachers Vocation Training Centre.
Yesterday, Education permanent secretary Sanet Steenkamp acknowledged the shortage of teachers in government, but said it was not the only contributing factor: “I don’t know what I have to explain today, because the minister said it all yesterday.” She said teacher shortages are not the sole contributor to the poor grade 12 results and called on TUN to provide the education ministry with a full analysis. “Everyone has a role to play, so if TUN thinks they have got a solution to the problem, they are welcome to share it with us,” she said.
Minister of Education, Arts and Culture Katrina Hanse-Himarwa has called for more parental involvement in the education of learners. She said this week that much more needs to be done to reach the NDP target, considering the outcome of the 2015 results. “More children could have been successful if they had received enough support from all parents and guardians,” the education minister said on Wednesday.