KATIMA MULILO – Sanjo Senior Secondary School and Brendan Simbwaye Primary School in the Zambezi Region have benefited from a philanthropic initiative of the University of Namibia after each school received nine computers recently.
Sanjo Senior Secondary School lies some 50 kilometres east of Katima Mulilo, while Brendan Simbwaye Primary School, which is named after one of Namibia’s liberation struggle heroes Brendan Kangongolo Simbwaye, is situated near the the town of Katima Mulilo. Even though both schools have computer laboratories, they are experiencing a critical shortage of computer equipment, a situation that has hampered computer proficiency skills at the two schools. Handing the donation to the two schools, the pro vice chancellor for administration and finance at the University of Namibia (Unam), Dr Boniface Mutumba said the country’s 4th National Development Plan (NDP4) requires an educated society and that IT literacy is an integral part of the ambitious plan. “We aspire for Namibia to become an industrialised nation by 2030 and that can only be achieved through concerted efforts. Education is the driver of economic growth.
Continuing to impart computer proficiency skills to primary and secondary school learners is a clear attestation of our commitment to attain the objectives set in NDP4,” said Mutumba. According to Mutumba rural schools suffer from what he termed “Technophobia” (the fear of technology) and that a change of mind was needed to change the status quo. “Those schools that are located outside the capital suffer from what is referred to as technophobia. This is a disease suffered by both teachers and learners. We have to challenge the status quo. That’s why we as Unam management deliberately opted to take this decision”, stated Mutumba.
Apart from the two schools in the Zambezi Region, regions such as Omusati and Kavango also benefited from the same assistance. “We opted to choose the Omusati, Kavango and Zambezi regions. We donated 45 computers to five schools in the selected regions. In our analysis, we looked at the schools that have laboratories, but are not well equipped. That was a sign of their preparedness. We don’t want to give computers that would be stored in a classroom and then start to gather dust,” said Mutumba.
He further said the low usage of ICT in schools has contributed to an oversupply of university students in some study disciplines, out of fear of computer studies. “We have discovered that the low usage of ICT has prompted learners to move to oversupplied disciplines. When they see introduction to computers they get cold feet. We must encourage optimal usage of computers. We must also open our hands as beneficiaries when requested by other neighbouring schools needing help,” Mutumba implored. He also appealed to the regional education authorities to consider the inclusion of computer laboratories in their planning, so as to encourage even donors to respond to their needs.
“I urge the principals, inspectors and other education managers to consider in their planning, the construction of laboratories, so that donors can consider them. No one can donate if you have no facilities. With these computers we expect you to break the wall of techno-phobia within your schools and communities and to bridge the digital divide,” he said. The Director of the Katima Mulilo Unam campus, Dr Bennet Kangumu said the donation would ease the transition of learners into tertiary education. “The Millennium Divelopment Goals (MDGs) say if you are not computer literate, you are not literate at all. We are making our effort as a university as well. We are extending this helping hand, so that when you join us here at the university, you will not struggle to [use and] learn about computers,” said Kangumu.
Kangumu further revealed plans to introduce new study programmes at the campus. “We are going to have a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife management very soon. We have already started laying the ground work. Our regional council had also put in a request for a higher diploma in animal science given the fact that our region is prone to diseases such as Foot and Mouth and Anthrax. This will be introduced next year and it’s the first of its kind. We are a university that responds to the needs of the community,” Kangumu said.
By George Sanzila