More classrooms to be built countrywide
The Ministry of Education, Art and Culture already had a backlog of 4 550 classrooms in 2019.
An additional 512 classrooms at existing schools in all 14 regions of the country will be built this year at an estimated cost of N$200 million.An exemption was granted by the Ministry of Finance to the Ministry of Education, Art and Culture to once again use the services of August 26 Construction for the building of the classrooms, which should be completed by the second half of the year.
The ministry, with the assistance of the construction company, built a record number of 510 classrooms and 70 toilets during the previous financial year, - the first time it was able to build so many classrooms in a financial year - and in just four months. With the completion of the new 512 classrooms, the ministry will have covered more than a quarter of the initial backlog of 4 550 classrooms noted in 2019.
Education minister Anna Nghipondoka said in the National Assembly during the discussion of her ministry's budget allocation of more than N$18 billion, that several hostels and primary schools as well as the construction of a centre for the Namibian College of Distance Education (Namcol) at Walvis Bay form part of the budget. The construction of a primary school at Otavi, as well as a school hall and kitchen at the Tsaraxa-Aibes Primary School at Otjiwarongo has already been completed, while four hostels in the Kavango West and Zambezi regions have also been completed thanks to the support of the Chinese government .
Education took the biggest chunk of the national budget (21.85%), of which 95% (N$17.411 billion) is for operating costs and the remaining 5% (N$970 million) for the ministry's capital expenditure.
UEG
According to Nghipondoka, the Universal Education Grant (UEG) for pre-school and primary school pupils is increasing from N$200 to N$300 per pupil, while it has been increased from N$300 to N$400 for secondary pupils. For pupils with special educational needs, the amounts will increase fivefold. The grants will be paid directly from the government coffers at national level to schools. N$15 per pupil is also transferred to schools to purchase products such as sanitary towels and toiletries. This only applies to vulnerable girls and boys. For school supplies, pre-school and primary school pupils receive N$100 each and those in high school N$150 per pupil.
For community and church hostels, the ministry will continue to pay an allowance of N$22 per hostel attendee per day to cover their meals. An additional amount of N$15.50 per square metre is paid to church residences for maintenance.
According to Nghipondoka, the provision of food to schools in terms of the feeding programme for schools as well as meals at hostels is one of the biggest cost drivers in the ministry. N$123 million has been earmarked for the provision of porridge to 468 000 primary school pupils, while N$659 million will be used to provide meals to 68 000 boarding pupils.
Success stories
Nghipondoka also shared several successes achieved during the 2023/24 financial year, which include capacity building for pre-school and primary school teachers to increase numeracy and literacy skills. Teachers are also empowered with skills to evaluate early literacy development and to ensure it is fully mastered before a pupil moves to the next grade and phase of his or her school career.
The ministry also developed a tool to identify pupils who experience obstacles in their foundation phase. The ongoing development of teachers has ensured that almost 600 teachers have received training in ordinary as well as advanced level subjects. Last year, more than 100 teachers and education officials received training on the content of examination reports and to give feedback on mistakes that were noted during the national marking of papers.
According to Nghipondoka, this training made a significant contribution to the improvement of the final results of the National Certificate's ordinary and advanced level results (NSSCO and NSSAS) for 2023.
Almost 19 000 adults are enrolled in basic literacy classes, while 5 212 parents and caregivers of grade 1 students at 325 primary schools are enrolled in the Family Literacy Programme (FLP). This programme aims to expose parents to the grade 1 curriculum and equip them to be able to help children with their homework at home.
Nghipondoka says the budget is in line with the ministerial implementation plan which was approved in the cabinet last year and which also has a dedicated implementation unit. It serves as a guideline to bring about much-needed change in education in the country.
"Our budget is directed towards this plan to systematically address the challenges we have in education." – [email protected]