Namibian Education

In Namibia, there are four phases of education. Junior primary (grades 0-3) and senior primary (grades 4-7) phases are typically completed at a primary school. Secondary schools include the junior secondary (grades 8-10) and senior secondary (grades 11-12) phases. The government has taken action against corruption by standardizing a strict syllabus and curriculum to be followed in each grade. The learners (in Namibia, students are called learners) are therefore graded mainly on assessments and exams, resulting in very little room for failure. To get an A, a learner must get an 80% or higher in the class. To pass, a learner must receive above a 40%. In 2018 in Windhoek, 53.3% of learners passed grade 10 and were granted entry into grade 11. It is common for Namibian learners to need to repeat grades. A learner in grade 10 can be promoted to grade 11 only if they receive a 40% or higher in 5 out of 6 subjects, a 40% or better in English, or an overall average of 40%.

At my permanent site near Rundu, I will be teaching junior secondary science at a combined school, meaning the school covers grades 0-9. Matias will be teaching at a senior secondary school, which shares a fence with my school! In preparation for our permanent site visit between October 4-10, school-based training began this week. Every day from 6:50am-12pm I observed grade 8 and 9 science classes at a combined school in Okahandja.

Monday felt a little surreal. Matias and I in a group of four volunteers arrived at school just before the morning assembly. We got off the bus and headed towards the outdoor crowd of learners, who were standing in orderly single file lines. Over a thousand heads turned in unison to watch as we walked to the front of the crowd. A choir of children begin the assembly. I stood and watched the choir, occasionally turning my head to the right and making eye contact with hundreds of kids still looking at me. A round of applause for choir! A round of applause for teacher excellence awards! An award goes out to an outstanding teacher, providing an 81% pass rate to her third grade class. Another round of applause!

Lastly, the principal declared that there was a very, very special announcement “from miles, and miles, and miles away.” There was an uproar of shouts and tiny jazz hands in the air. We walked to face the crowd and for a moment, I knew what fame must feel like. Shouts and claps. A fury of excitement from the learners. The principal sternly demanded silence. She announced that if the learners behave, the Americans will stay at their school for two years! That is simply not true, but it got the learners to remain dead silent. I was handed the mic. Girls turned and giggled at each other. Little boys stared in astonishment as I said, in a sharp American accent, my name is Helen! A round of applause! A big, long lastly, glorious, triumphant, extravagant, round of applause!!!

Morning assembly cut through period 1, period 2, and half of period 3.

If I were to describe the rest of the first day and week in one word, I would use the word “mayhem.” It was both wonderful and eye-opening. Both the physical science and life science teachers I observed were excellent, but they didn’t always show up to class. On Friday, there was a cultural event that some learners were involved in, so most teachers didn’t show up to school. I went to my physical science class where groups of learners were sitting in an empty room. I taught them a lesson on forces and work. Amongst teachers that the Peace Corps volunteers observed this week, there was a trend that the teachers left their classrooms for long periods of time. Learners can be left alone in the classroom all period. Although corporal punishment is illegal in Namibia and I didn’t see it happen, it was observed by a few Peace Corps volunteers. This included rubber piping being used to hit kids, make loud sounds on the tables, and the use of papers and books to hit kids on the head. There is an emphasis on obedience. Some teachers spent over half the class time punishing the class for misbehaving.

After speaking to Namibian learners and teaching a few lessons, I feel very excited to begin teaching my own class. The kids are curious and very bright. Obviously, there are issues with the Namibian education system. My job isn’t to fix the system, but to work within it to foster learning of both teachers and learners. This upcoming week, I am teaching grade 8 physical science all week, and then visiting my permanent site!! Things are moving very fast. There have been emotional ups and downs, as expected, but I am doing well. I will update again during my permanent site visit with pictures! <3