There is no doubt that education is a key driver in societal and national development in any country. Easy access to quality education and high literacy rates have contributed significantly to the development of nations. Huge sums of money that governments spend on improving the quality of education are testimony of the role education plays in the development agendas of nations. 

There is no point at which countries can say that now they have enough education for their citizens, therefore, they should stop funding this crucial component of development. That would be a cocktail for disaster. 

This is not to suggest that there have not been educational models that have been cast away because they have failed to produce intended goals. Universities have introduced new curricula or syllabi and have reviewed many programmes in line with the demands of the job market and stakeholders. Even primary and secondary sectors accommodate new and reviewed curricula from time to time in line with local and international trends and benchmarks.

We have witnessed countries emerging from protracted liberation wars increasing access to education to reach the previously disadvantaged communities, especially in Africa. The construction of new schools, colleges and universities has proved the commitment of new governments to bring accessibility to education to most of the citizenry. This process of taking education to the people has been termed massification of education. 

Massification of education has attracted praises and criticisms, and the benefits of this bold step by governments have proved detractors wrong. The enormous numbers of people that access education, which they would not have otherwise acquired before massification, have contributed significantly to the socio-economic development of their nations. Some of the people who benefited through massification of education in their countries have contributed to the development of the diaspora.

In this regard, let me cite Zimbabwe as a case in point. When the late president Robert Mugabe started the massification of education programme in 1980 when the country attained independence after the war of liberation, many people condemned this programme as they thought it would water down the British system of education anchored by Cambridge University that was in place. Subsequent years proved Robert Mugabe’s massification of education correct as many primary and secondary schools were constructed and more colleges and universities built. Zimbabwe became the education powerhouse of Southern Africa and Africa as a whole. The Zimbabwe Open University offered programmes that gave higher education to thousands for citizens that had hitherto failed to access higher education because of the scarcity of higher education institutions in the country. The results were overwhelmingly pleasing.

As I write this article, there are Zimbabwean professionals in almost every country in the whole world – teachers, professors, engineers, doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, judges, lawyers, accountants – the result of Mugabe’s massification of education.  What it means is that Zimbabwe produced excess human capital through massification of education and was and is still able to export this much sought after Zimbabwean human capital. 

What is pleasing to note is that Zimbabweans in the diaspora have showed their mettle in all the fields they occupy, further affirming Mugabe’s great vision of providing massive education to the people.  Although there are some challenges in providing massive access to education to the citizenry, the benefits outweigh the challenges as in the Zimbabwean example. 

I have read with concern that some people think that Namibia now has enough teachers, nurses and other professionals, and that training providers should either stop or scale down training in these and other professions. 

While I agree that there is high unemployment faced by these and other professionals in the country, and elsewhere, this is not a good reason for stopping training professionals. Unemployment will always be there, and I have a strong conviction that the training of professionals should go ahead uninterrupted.  

While it is worrying that there are unemployed graduates in the streets and villages, one day, Namibia will be able to export this excess human capital. Mark my words, one day the sun will rise for the unemployed graduates in Namibia. 

As stated in the Namibian constitution, education is a basic right for every citizen.

Professor Jairos Kangira is a professor of English at the University of Namibia. E-mail address: kjairos@gmail.com