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History of Education in Namibia

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Pre-independence

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Before Namibia's independence, the country's education system was designed to reinforce apartheid rather than provide the necessary human resource base to promote equitable social and economic development. It was fragmented along racial and ethnic lines, with vast disparities in both the allocation of resources and the quality of education offered.[1]


However education in Namibia did not always reinforce apartheid, as prior to independence, the educational institution in Namibia underwent three distinct phases.[2] The phases can be separated into the pre-Bantu education that occurred before 1953, the Bantu education placed from 1953 to 1976, and the post-Bantu education from 1977 to independence in 1990.[3] The phases are distinctly noted by drastic political changes that affected the general pattern of political, socio-economic changes that significantly influenced the inhabitants of Namibia.[4]


The first phase existed before the South African Bantu Education Act, No. 47 of 1953.[5] Prior to this act, Namibian education took both formal and informal forms.[6] Formal forms of education consisted of rural classes that meant to target young male children to be educated in their familial trade.[7] Informal education, which was more widespread, usually took place through observation, which occurred through the sharing of knowledge from one generation to the next.[8] This type of education took the form of younger generations observing the elders within a community to gain knowledge.[9]


The second phase followed the placement of the Bantu Education Act, No. 47 of 1953, which was critical in enforcing the apartheid regime.[10] Following the establishment of three distinct schools, the education act enforced segregation laws that placed the colored students at a disadvantage.[11] While the National Examination Board for South West Africa created a syllabi to oversee examinations and prescribe the minimum standards for educational courses, the examinations themselves were administered differently based on race.[12]


The third phase follows the National Education Act No. 30, placed in 1980 as a means of establishing a national bodies for education.[13] Prior to independence, Namibia suffered the effects of the Bantu education act during this phase in which social stratification was enforced by the discriminatory practices within educational institutions.[14] The limited education available for the colored majority meant that they were restricted in upward mobility and oppressed by the educational system.[15]

Post-independence

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The new Government of the Republic of Namibia (GRN) set about to create one unified structure for education administration. Currently, Namibia allocates more than 20% of its national budget to education. This represents six to seven percent of Namibia's total GDP and is one of the three countries with the highest percentage of GDP directed toward education in the world.[1] Educational institutions in Namibia and their portfolio are accredited by the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA). This institution evaluates and accredits national institutions and degrees, as well as foreign qualifications of people who wish to demonstrate the national equivalence of their degrees earned abroad.[16] Researchers from the United States Agency for International Development opine that the investment is paying off. A new, uniform and learner-centered curriculum for grades one through twelve, finalized in 1998, has received recognition beyond Namibia's borders and significant progress has been made in the use of English (which replaced Afrikaans as the nation's official language) as a medium of instruction. About 95 percent of school age children attend school and the number of teachers has increased by almost 30 percent since 1990. Over 3000 new classrooms have been built. As a result of these improvements, repetition rates in all grades have been reduced. Whereas in 1991, half the learners in grade 1 were repeating the grade, by 2003, over 84 percent of learners were earning their promotions on time. Dropout rates have also plummeted.[1]

On the other hand, Namibia's former Minister of Education Abraham Iyambo summarily described the Namibian education system as "crippled",[17] citing dropout rates, lack of teaching facilities, financial difficulties, sub-standard vocational training, and absence of pre-primary development. A National Conference on Education, running from 27 June to 1 July 2011, was conferred to address the most pressing issues.[17] The Namibian education system is experiencing many obstacles. It is faced with serious weaknesses in the provision of education to all. Additionally the quality of education, quality of teachers and the performance of learners is unsatisfactory. The Ministry of Education is drafting an improvement program that is known as the ETSIP (Education and Training Sector Improvement Program). The ETSIP aims to align the entire Namibian education system to Namibia's Vision 2030 and the needs of the Namibian population.[18]

In all government schools, primary education is free since 2013,[19] and secondary education since 2016.[20] Tertiary educational institutions, both private and public, charge tuition fees. Corporal punishment is not allowed.[21]

Inclusion Policies

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Following independence in 1990, Namibian education underwent significant reform as efforts for inclusion began immediately following the integration of their constitution.[22] In 2013, Namibia passed the Sector Policy on Inclusive Education which was a monumental milestone which they achieved with UNESCO.[23] The Sector Policy on Inclusive Education was meant to serve as a medium for attainting accessible, equitable and sound education for all students.[24]The Ministry of Education enacted this policy as a response to the applicable national legal frameworks and a number of international legal frameworks which Namibia has ratified, as well as in following with amendments to the constitution and their National Policy on Disability.[25] The inclusion policies reflect the general trend in reform towards greater inclusion in Namibian educational institutions.[26] Numerous studies have been conduct both within and outside of Namibia in efforts to persuade the educational body to push the field towards greater inclusion following the early 2000s.[27] This stems from the popular belief held by the locals that in both primary, secondary, and higher education, the belief that inclusive policies will ultimately benefit the public is the general consensus within Namibia.[28]


Challenges to education reform have been highlighted by financial shortcomings from the families that require supplementary material to provide the students with the necessary educational prerequisites including textbooks.[29] Even with the constitution mandating free education, the policies do not cover the external expenses, which studies have suggested requires reflective practice from the teachers to overcome.[30] Inclusion policies in Namibia have acted in accordance with the findings of the study to improve the youth and adult education in Namibia.[31] Grounded in current policies, the educational ideologies that prioritize inclusion are discussed among researchers to provide adequate developmental needs in both primary education as well as higher education in Namibia.[32]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Namibia Africa: Strategic Objectives: Quality Primary Education". United States Agency for International Development. 2008-08-26. Archived from the original on 2008-08-16. Retrieved 2008-08-04. This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ Namibia's pre-post Independence Education Systems. Open Textbooks for Hong Kong. (2015, July 24). https://www.opentextbooks.org.hk/ditatopic/17423
  3. ^ Namibia's pre-post Independence Education Systems. Open Textbooks for Hong Kong. (2015, July 24). https://www.opentextbooks.org.hk/ditatopic/17423
  4. ^ Namibia's pre-post Independence Education Systems. Open Textbooks for Hong Kong. (2015, July 24). https://www.opentextbooks.org.hk/ditatopic/17423
  5. ^ Namibia's pre-post Independence Education Systems. Open Textbooks for Hong Kong. (2015, July 24). https://www.opentextbooks.org.hk/ditatopic/17423
  6. ^ Namibia's pre-post Independence Education Systems. Open Textbooks for Hong Kong. (2015, July 24). https://www.opentextbooks.org.hk/ditatopic/17423
  7. ^ Namibia's pre-post Independence Education Systems. Open Textbooks for Hong Kong. (2015, July 24). https://www.opentextbooks.org.hk/ditatopic/17423
  8. ^ Namibia's pre-post Independence Education Systems. Open Textbooks for Hong Kong. (2015, July 24). https://www.opentextbooks.org.hk/ditatopic/17423
  9. ^ Namibia's pre-post Independence Education Systems. Open Textbooks for Hong Kong. (2015, July 24). https://www.opentextbooks.org.hk/ditatopic/17423
  10. ^ Namibia's pre-post Independence Education Systems. Open Textbooks for Hong Kong. (2015, July 24). https://www.opentextbooks.org.hk/ditatopic/17423
  11. ^ Namibia's pre-post Independence Education Systems. Open Textbooks for Hong Kong. (2015, July 24). https://www.opentextbooks.org.hk/ditatopic/17423
  12. ^ Namibia's pre-post Independence Education Systems. Open Textbooks for Hong Kong. (2015, July 24). https://www.opentextbooks.org.hk/ditatopic/17423
  13. ^ Namibia's pre-post Independence Education Systems. Open Textbooks for Hong Kong. (2015, July 24). https://www.opentextbooks.org.hk/ditatopic/17423
  14. ^ Huillery, Elise. 2009. "History Matters: The Long-Term Impact of Colonial Public Investments in French West Africa." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1 (2): 176-215 DOI: 10.1257/app.1.2.176
  15. ^ Lachlan McNamee. (2019) Indirect colonial rule and the salience of ethnicity, World Development, Volume 122, 2019, Pages 142-156, ISSN 0305-750X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.05.017.
  16. ^ "NQA:: History". Namibia Qualifications Authority. Archived from the original on 24 August 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  17. ^ a b Nakale, Albertina (28 June 2011). "Education 'crippled'... Let's fix it - Dr Iyambo". New Era. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  18. ^ "The Program Basic Education Namibia". NIED. Archived from the original on 2011-03-11. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
  19. ^ "Free Primary Education from 2013". Government of Namibia. 20 December 2012.
  20. ^ "Free secondary education in 2016 – Hanse-Himarwa". New Era. 10 November 2015.
  21. ^ Menges, Werner (6 September 2016). "School beatings ruled illegal". The Namibian. p. 3.
  22. ^ Lars Dahlström, Patti Swarts & Kenneth Zeichner. (1999). Reconstructive education and the road to social justice: the case of post-colonial teacher education in Namibia, International Journal of Leadership in Education, 2:3, 149-164, DOI: 10.1080/13603124.1999.11509462
  23. ^ O’Hanlon, C. (2013). Sector policy on inclusive education 2013 - planipolis.iiep.unesco.org. https://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/sites/default/files/ressources/namibia_sector_policy_on_inclusive_education.pdf
  24. ^ O’Hanlon, C. (2013). Sector policy on inclusive education 2013 - planipolis.iiep.unesco.org. https://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/sites/default/files/ressources/namibia_sector_policy_on_inclusive_education.pdf
  25. ^ O’Hanlon, C. (2013). Sector policy on inclusive education 2013 - planipolis.iiep.unesco.org. https://planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/sites/default/files/ressources/namibia_sector_policy_on_inclusive_education.pdf
  26. ^ Mowes, A. D. (2002). The views of educators regarding inclusive education in Namibia. Handle Proxy. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/53188
  27. ^ Naanda, A. N. (2005). The development of an inclusive approach in early ... Retrieved April 15, 2022, from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Aune-Victor
  28. ^ Haihambo, Cynthy. (2010). Inclusive education : challenges of students with disabilities in institutions of higher education in Namibia, University of South Africa, Pretoria, <http://hdl.handle.net/10500/3702>
  29. ^ Wikan, G. (2008). Challenges in the primary education in Namibia. CORE. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from https://core.ac.uk/display/30806802
  30. ^ Swarts, P. S. (1998). The transformation of teacher education in Namibia : the development of reflective practice. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from https://radar.brookes.ac.uk/radar/items/011054d9-f7d4-4e56-962f-5d887fffcdc3/1/
  31. ^ Shaleyfu, K. (2012). Youth and adult learning and education in Namibia. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from http://nolnet.edu.na/files/downloads/a01_namibia%20yale%20final.pdf
  32. ^ Ping, C.J., Crowley, B. (1997). Educational ideologies and national development needs: the ’African University‘ in Namibia. Higher Education 33, 381–395 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1002994531477
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