John Muyamba
Rundu-The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, says as education is among the multiplicity of challenges facing the country, schools should try to do more with less.
Nandi-Ndaitwah feels if schools could do more with less it could bring education to a more productive level and the country could benefit more from its natural resources.
She was speaking at a gala dinner hosted last Saturday at Rudolf Ngondo Primary School, N$135,000 was raised in cash and pledges towards renovating the dilapidated school hall.
Rudolf Ngondo, despite a lack of sufficient classrooms, is Rundu’s best performing primary school and parents jostle to register their children at the school.
“Now and then you hear the classes are overcrowded. I agree with the statement that if you focus on something you might achieve it. Rudolf Ngondo Primary School, the teachers, the learners and parents are focused in order to make sure their school’s pass rate is number one in the country, regardless of the fact their teacher learner ratio is 1:60 and 1:62 while the prescribed ratio is 35 learners for each teacher,” she said.
“I was very surprised when I looked at the results and to be informed the teacher learner ratio is 60 and 62 and you hear schools, principals and teachers complain that we cannot perform because the classes are too big (overcrowded). You have them in your 40s and you have them in the 50s. They told me this afternoon the biggest class at the school has 62 learners but the pass rate is so high – why? Because they are focused on delivering education and are not pushed back by what people consider to be challenges,” said Nandi-Ndaitwah who also serves as deputy prime minister.
She said if other schools can follow how Rudolf Ngondo does things “then we can go a long with what we say do more with less – it is possible”.