Hilma Hashange
MARIENTAL – Road safety education will soon be introduced at schools and integrated in the national school curriculum.
The joint initiative by the National Road Safety Council (NRSC) and the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture aims to teach school-going children basic traffic rules and road safety concepts.
In order to prepare teachers to integrate road safety education into the curriculum, the National Institute for Educational Development (NIED), together with the NRSC, are conducting country wide workshops to train teachers on the road safety education manual.
According to Ngeve Shangombe of NIED, the improved national curriculum for basic education paved way for the integration of road safety education into school curricular through the cross-curricular integration method.
“Cross-circular integration means the teaching of road safety will be done through topics in subjects such as social studies, environmental studies, languages, art and mathematics,” Shangombe explained.
Speaking at the training for teachers at Daweb Senior Secondary School in Maltahohe in the Hardap region, Shangombe added that road safety education is an important aspect of reducing and stabilising the number of deaths as a result of traffic accidents.
“Education, therefore, is the key in the long-run to address the road users’ behaviour by promoting and developing appropriate knowledge, understanding of traffic rules and road safety concepts. Statistics have shown that countries with compulsory road safety education have less numbers of traffic-related deaths and injuries despite having higher vehicle and human population,” said Shangombe.
Statistics from the Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) fund show that the majority of drivers involved in road accidents are between the ages of 18-45. The most at risk group for traffic injuries in the country are between the ages of 16 and 35 years old. In 2018, the total number of casualties caused by road traffic accidents in the Hardap region was 354.
Regional traffic coordinator chief inspector Brendan Sinvula urged learners to avoid playing in the streets as roads were made for cars. “Some of you have turned the roads into soccer fields and when you are bumped by a car, your parents blame the driver. The road is meant for cars – not for pedestrians.” He further encouraged learners to be extra cautious when using the road and to always look left and right before crossing the road.