The public perception that civil servants are largely unproductive and inefficient at best is a misconception that should be detached from the broader institution – government.

This according to Evelin !Noreses, a mathematics and natural science teacher at the Emma Hoogenhout Primary School in Hochland Park. 

!Noreses refuses to plead ignorance to the fact that pockets of incompetence that ought to be addressed do exist within the public service. 

Speaking to New Era this week, !Noreses urged the public to desist from the portrayal of all government institutions as ineffective, suggesting that such statements should be directed at the sluggish individuals whose lacklustre approach to work is dragging “the good name” of the civil service through the mud.  

She stressed that such people should be dealt with accordingly, as there is no place for such a servant in the public service. 

Said !Noreses: “The nation deserves the best when it comes to services, regardless of the condition in which the work is conducted; hence, I encourage all my colleagues to deliver as expected, despite the challenges.”

Humble beginnings 

!Noreses is the youngest of four siblings – all of whom were raised by a single mother, a domestic worker. 

She completed her primary school years at AI Steenkamp in Windhoek, Katutura, before moving to Jan Jonker Afrikaner Secondary School – a stone’s throw from her primary school – for the first half of her secondary school years. 

Thereafter, she moved to Augustineum Secondary School, where she completed her Junior Secondary Certificate (Grade 10). 

!Noreses matriculated in 1997 at the Dawid Bezuidenhout Secondary School.  

In search of a professional career, her motherly persona got the best of her – and in 2000, she obtained a Basic Education Teacher’s Diploma (BETD), specialising as a mathematics and science teacher for Grades 5 to 7. 

She also holds an Advanced Diploma in Life Orientation and Guidance as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Education, Training, and Development from the University of Johannesburg. 

“I am confident that my qualifications, coupled with the 20 years of experience, are beneficial in that they enable me to multitask as I navigate my daily operations with ease,” she said. 

“Learners feel safe and inspired around me, and my colleagues can rely on me while my superiors and parents have learned to trust me. In short, I have produced results and managed to remain consistent. My learners are capable of reaching greater heights, and I have the responsibility to help them reach their full potential,” she added.

The self-professed sports lover was a sprinter and a footballer in her early days – and this saw her rubbing shoulders with the likes of Brave Gladiators coach and now Namibia Football Association’s Technical Director Jacqueline Shipanga and others. 

“It was in 1998 that Jacqueline Shipanga introduced women’s football at the college (then Windhoek College of Education). I joined the college team and was called up for regional, TISAN, CUCSA and the Brave Gladiators national duties between 1998 to 2000,” she enthused.

Working for government

!Noreses is proud to have been a career civil servant. Having joined the public service in 2001, she said she has never looked back. 

“As the beneficiary for the government’s study grant, I have the responsibility to serve the masses. I am compelled to give back,” she said. 

Besides teaching, she is a sports organiser for the school.

When asked what she finds challenging about her job, she pointed out the lack of support from parents and the high teacher-learner ratio as the major contributing factors to her down days. 

She further pointed out inadequate resources such as textbooks, stationery, furniture and the support for extramural programs and practical subjects as some of the hindrances. 

Career highlights

Queried on what she finds satisfying, !Noreses beams with joy. What she finds particularly satisfying, she said, is being able to apply strategies to help influence and inspire her learners to reach their full potential. 

“Having light bulb moments during teaching and learning and, most of all, having the necessary support and involvement from our parents is equally fulfilling,” she said.

Also rewarding, she added, is the fact that she has achieved 90-95% pass rates in the subjects she teaches throughout her career. 

She was the 2011 Teacher of the Year at the school.

National selectors noticed her achievements and selected her national team manager for the under-13 girls’ national cricket team in 2010 for a tour to Botswana. 

 “Consequently, recognition was also granted by NFA in women’s football development; thus, I was also selected in the management of the under 13 and 15 girls’ national football teams,” she said. 

 “The highlight of my career is the fact that I produced two girls who represented our country in the 2014 Nanjing Youth Olympics alongside me serving as a team manager – and two, in the U20 Region 5 Games since 2008 as well as for the CAF Women’s Football Championship, hosted by Namibia in 2014. About 20 girls from our school were part of this opening ceremony choreography,” she added, further maintaining that other regional and national athletes came through her hands with records set by some at these meetings.   

Quizzed on what she loves most about working for the government, she revealed:

“The security and the guarantee its working environment offer is what I value the most as a public servant,” she revealed.

While she does not “intent to swap” her service station with another school, she said she would like to retire in a different environment.

 “Professionally, I would like to upgrade my qualification and venture into adult education or curriculum development, especially for primary school mathematics. Individually, there is a burning desire to compile a resource journal, highlighting the fundamentals of primary school mathematics, in order to share my expertise and experience.”