ONGWEDIVA - The Executive Director in the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, Sanet Steenkamp, has reiterated the call for inclusive education to ensure that children who are not academically gifted are catered for too.
Steenkamp said the education system must reach out to be more inclusive of all children and foster in them a lifelong curiosity for learning while increasing efforts to support sports, arts and promotion of culture in the quest of learners to meet challenges in the future.
“In the focus on academic performance, we tend to forget that not every child has the desire or inclination to become a scholar at university or the best academic in the country,” said Steenkamp.
“Our young acclaimed sport men and women, our most brilliant musicians, our humble and esteemed artists and visual art performers, our entrepreneurs and artisans are seating in our classrooms, in our houses and communities and they face the fear of never reaching their full potential if their talent is not identified, recognised, invested and nurtured,” Steenkamp said further.
In addition, Steenkamp said in preparing the learners for a competitive world of employment, educators should be mindful that the corporate environment demands not only academic qualifications, but it is also looking for personal qualities like decisive leadership, teamwork, determination, flexibility, respect, consideration, confidence, personal mastery, responsibility, integrity and honesty.
“I have stressed to our learners on several occasions that much of life’s successes are governed by attitude rather than innate intelligence and that a strong work ethic should be inculcated in our children from a young age,” the Executive Director added.
Steenkamp also appealed to individuals and corporate companies to be ambassadors of education and to support the ministry in its quest to provide quality education.
She also appealed to Namibians to mentor the learners and prepare them for the world ahead.
The gala dinner raised N$55 000.
The funds generated will assist 10 orphans and vulnerable learners currently enrolled at the school.
The school is also planning to increase the number of orphans and vulnerable learners at the school during the 2020 academic year.