A closer reflection and inquiry into Namibia basic education reform could deliver mixed reactions and leave more pertinent questions unanswered.
It remains not clear whether basic education reforms that have taken place since 1990 have delivered the required outcomes. Or should various basic education reforms be considered unfinished processes? What has been the rationale for basic education reforms? What has been achieved through those basic education reforms? Is there discernable light at the end of the tunnel? Approaching 31 years of Namibia’s independence, the basic education system seems not getting its feet on the right and concrete path to inclusive and all-embraced basic education. Reform after reform, the basic education system continues to “send” learners on the street, even those as young as 16 years of age because the system could not accommodate or allow them to repeat after failing specific grades.
It appears that there is an urgent need to conduct a nation-wide survey to establish how many young people (learners) were denied their constitutional rights to continue formal schooling, alternatively face-to-face education, because the system refused them the most preferred education after they have failed grades 10 or 12, and currently, possibly the new grade 11. One may argue that there is Namibia College of Open Learning (Namcol) which was established to cater to those who could not secure placement in formal schools after failing the grades in question. However, the fact remains that formal school provides much-needed opportunity and pedagogical support for young learners to learn while under close supervision and guidance. Young minds need such an approach if they are to excel in their studies. It is also a fact that for young people, distance learning though with purported guidance, the chance for them to excel and perform well and eventually pass the exams remains a daunting task. Since independence in 1990, basic education has introduced and implemented various education reforms ostensibly in an attempt to improve basic education, to no significant outcome at all. Year after year, the ministry of basic education could not even come closer to its target in terms of passing rate in both grades 10 and 12. Every year the announcement, “there is a slight improvement in passing rate” becomes a basic education “buzzwords” while thousands of learners are relegated to village or street life. Few lucky and courageous ones got the opportunity to continue the “fight” at Namcol.
Two issues: reform was supposed to perfect the system and improve learners’ passing rate; similarly, the reform should make the system produce well-grounded learners ready to take up the challenges offered by universities in terms of learning and knowledge cultivation.
As if the lessons learned during the past 30 years of efforts to get the education system in order, the 2020 introduction of NSSCO and NSSC-AS seems to have added “salt to injury”. The new grade 11 as an entrance into university studies could not come at the wrong time, knowing that there are still thousands of grade 12 still seeking admissions to institutions of higher learning. This makes competition for admission at universities unrealistic for new grade 11 holders.
I am not speaking on behalf of universities, however, two potential students (grade 11 and 12), whom would you admit for a programme of study at the university level. It is not clear whether university academic programmes have grade 11 (National Qualifications Framework level 3) as an admission requirement. Also, many university academic qualifications start at NQF level 5. Therefore, accepting students with NQF level 3 and elevates her/him to NQF level 5 is not only compromising the quality of higher education, but it is also unfair because it robs learners the opportunity to systematic grow academically, and acquire the necessary programme-related cognitive and intellectual skills and competence. The current basic education system seems to have pushed universities into the corner to cosmetically adjust their admission requirements to accommodate grade 11 learners, and possibly reinvent academic programmes to compensate for the lost knowledge, skills, and competence at NQF level 4. Moreover, many learners who could not make it to the new grade 12 and perhaps not so fortunate to secure placement at universities, colleges, and vocational institutions, have to figure out what the future holds for them. The 2020 records indicate that out of 21 648 learners who sat for the revised NSSCO, only 7 518 learners have qualified for NSSC-AS (new grade 12). The remaining 14 130 were left to “fight” for admission at universities, colleges, and vocational training institutions. While Unam has indicated that they might not ready to absorb NSSCO learners this academic calendar and South African universities are definitely no go area for grade 11, those who could not secure admission at NUST, IUM, and other colleges in the country may return to the village and street life and see what the future will hold for them, perhaps joining the army of those already enduring an uncertain future created by the basic education reforms. Whether institutions of higher learning were properly consulted and actively involved before the NSSCO-NSSC-AS decision was taken is another day’s question.
The mind-boggling question is why various education reforms seem not to have achieved the desired outcomes, and what might have been the likely challenges:
Education is a national and civic responsibility that requires concerted and coordinated efforts by public and private sectors, civic organisations, communities, parents, and international organisations. Both active and passive stakeholders should be actively consulted and involved in any reform being undertaken. Leaving out some would end up in unintended consequences and poor outcomes, even if the action was intended to improve the basic education system. Inclusive participation and consultation are the only best option for education reform to bear fruits.
Infrastructure and resources available to support basic education reform. Introducing a new curriculum or amending an existing one may require relevant infrastructure and resources to accommodate learners to ensure a successful implementation of such a curriculum. Teachers may also need to be equipped with new skills and knowledge necessary to achieve the purpose of reform.
The poor performance by learners in a given curriculum might be attributed to some of the factors mentioned above, which the system has failed to address before implementing the new reform.
Aligning the new NSSCO-NSSC-AS to NQF and university academic programmes. For example, if the university academic programmes are at NQF level 5, then the basic education curriculum especially grades 11 and 12 should be pitched at NQF level 4. This may be achieved by integrating and aligning subjects with NQF levels 3 and 4. By so doing, it addresses a situation where learners will be required to undergo a bridging year to prepare them for specific university academic programmes. Sensitising parents and guardians of the implications of a new reform. Curriculum reform may require learners to move schools, move to other regions where the required grades are located, develop and purchase learning material, change school uniform, move to school hotels, or even go to university at the tender age of 16, as this the case of new grade 11 that has now become an exit grade. These are implications that are directly affecting parents and guardians of learners, impact the learning process and subsequently learners’ performance outcomes. Thus, if proper consultation is not done, and coordination mechanisms are not put in place, the education system will not achieve the intended outcomes. Therefore, reflective analysis and inquiry are needed to inform future planning, decisions, and actions.
Preparing the teaching staff to embrace the new reform and live up to the expectation. Being a qualified teacher may not necessarily imply that you are ready to kick-start any new curriculum and produce the required results. Perhaps one needs to see statistics of the number of teachers who have been prepared and made ready before the introduction of the new reform. Knowledge is dynamic, hence, requires constant improving and updating if effective and efficient teaching is to be realised.
Last but not least, where do we benchmark, and how do we explain the rationale for benchmarking if there is any. Education reforms must be based on success stories, models, and approaches. Best models allow us the opportunity to reflect and evaluate the implementation process and adjust where required without necessarily reinventing the wheel. What are the successes and achievements of previous educational reforms in the country and we keep on reforming? A hypothetical question keeps coming: Is basic education reform in Namibia a learning process; if so, till when?
Tuhafeni Helao (PhD) has 22 years of teaching experience, spanning from secondary school to university. This is his personal opinion.