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Regional Directorates of Education

Omaheke Region

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In 2005, there was an improvement in the performance of schools in Omaheke. This was due the commitment of principals, teachers and learners that was noticed in some schools. The intervention by the Regional Office, Head Office and parents contributed to the positive change in results. The positive results can be attributed among other things to the various activities such as school visits and training workshops.

The collective action of the limited staff component of the Regional office was harnessed to ensure that the required school improvement activities planned were executed effectively. Inspectors of Education and the Education Officers focused their efforts on improving the quality of teaching and learning by means of school visits and training workshops. The Inspectors’ guiding principle was the resolve to concentrate on what actually happens in the classroom, that is, actual teaching and learning. Attention was mainly focused on the following:

· Monitoring the extent to which schools had embarked on the implementation of the new Lower Primary Curriculum;

· Examining how reading, writing and mathematics skills in Grade 5 were taught because these skills are the foundation for further learning;

· Ensuring that school management and teachers pay attention to Grades that write external examinations and that learners were taking their studies with the necessary seriousness, commitment and clear purpose.

 

In the Lower Primary phase, Inspectors of Education noted that some teachers did not implement the new curriculum as expected, despite the fact that they attended a workshop and received the necessary guidelines. Some teachers could not follow the basic principles in lesson presentation. Likewise, there were learners who had not yet realized the importance of homework. Hence serious reprimands were issued to the teachers concerned, in order to nip such negligence in the bud. Inspectors noted cases of teachers not following the basic steps of lesson presentation and not paying thorough attention to giving learners homework in order to cultivate in them a culture of working hard consistently after school. Inspectors thus enforced a system of prescribed lesson preparation sheets at all the schools they visited.

During school visits Inspectors of Education put the emphasis on monitoring of the work of teachers by the school management. Principals are expected to report their monitoring of teaching to the Regional Office on a monthly basis. Another important aspect of the school visits was the induction and training of principals and school board members, as well as the extension of cluster-based activities to ensure that all the schools aspire towards effectiveness in their teaching and learning programmes. The Directorate Education Programme Implementation and the Basic Education Project of the German Government rendered immense support in these respects.

Primary and Junior Secondary Schools were visited and benefited from Training and Support in English offered by the Education Officer. A change in the performance of teachers especially at Grades 5, 6 and 7 were noted. The Education Officer for English also engaged himself in setting and moderating Regional Mock exams during August 2005 so as to determine if all schools were in fact performing according to expectations and requirements, both nationally and regionally. A Regional English paper for Grades 5 and 6 was set to monitor if learners were in fact able to secure a D-symbol for English in terms of the new promotion requirements which came into effect during November 2005.

The School Counsellor rendered assistance to learners with behavioural problems at Mokganedi Tlhabanello Senior Secondary School, and distributed Career Guidance manuals to all the Secondary Schools with the instruction that they should be used immediately. Together with his assistant, he held sensitization meetings with community and traditional leaders on alcohol and substance abuse in the Aminuis constituency. With generous support from NAMPOWER, two promising San learners were placed at Wennie du Plessis Secondary School for further study.

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With the assistance of the Omaheke San Trust, two hundred and twenty San learners were placed in different schools in the Region. One hundred and twenty four orphans and vulnerable children were exempted from paying hostel fees on the mediation of Lironga Eparu and Save the Children Project. With the appointment of a Regional Literacy Organizer (RLO) in July 2005, the Literacy Programme was put on a smooth course. All the Literacy Districts were thus visited with the intention to monitor and control their activities. The RLO urged the Literacy Promoters to also appoint San as promoters in order to enable the San people, especially the youth, to be motivated by such role models.

The Region invited Advisory Teachers from the Khomas Regional Education Office to render support to teachers at selected schools that needed support. To learn from the experience of others, the Basic Education Project Leader, Dr Donna Kay LeCzel was invited, to share thoughts with principals on best practices in respect of promoting teaching and learning, at the Omaheke Principals Association trimester meeting. This was done in order to stimulate the educational thoughts of the principals and for them to use the meeting as an occasion for bouncing back their ideas on education.

New buildings were constructed and old ones were renovated at the following places:

· Two classrooms and a storeroom were constructed at Epako Junior Secondary School, while two bachelor flats for teachers were constructed at Morukutu Primary School;

· Renovations were made to an office block, ablution block and two houses for volunteer teachers at Drimiopsis Primary School. The Ben van der Walt Hostel was renovated and turned into office block to accommodate the Omaheke Regional Office and the Usiel Ndjavera Primary School boys hostel was also renovated.

During the reporting period, the HIV and AIDS component was a hive of activity. Five hundred learners completed ‘My Future My Choice’ life skills programme; two teachers per school were trained in Junior and Senior ‘Window of Hope’ life skills programme; a successful World AIDS day celebration was held; Capacity Building workshops were held; officials paid visits to different places in the Region for information-sharing; and the ‘Window of Hope’ programme training kits were distributed to the facilitators in schools.

Those schools which have admitted a great number of orphans and vulnerable children will find it difficult to make ends meet. Like any other school, they too have to supplement the government budget in one way or another. Although the Region managed to cope with an additional number of about 100 learners seeking admission to Grade one, due to the migration of people to Gobabis, the Region was nearly caught unaware. There is thus a need for the construction of a primary school in Gobabis in order to absorb the gradually increasing number of learners in this town.

· Although plans are underway to have a primary school in Gobabis next year, the Directorate of Planning and Development is required to render a helping hand to this move. Their support will surely expedite the construction of a new school in Gobabis which should be ready early next year.

· If we are to boost the enrolment of San learners in school, there is a need for the ETSIP initiative recommendation of pro-poor approach to be put to a test by implementing it in respect of the San – exempting them from paying the required hostel and school development fund, at least for two years or three.

· We trust that the good efforts towards school improvement embarked upon during 2005, and which are being intensified during 2006, will lead to better school results in future.

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