Fifty-two (52) learners sat for the HIGCSE examinations with a total of 123 subject entries. Three hundred and thirty four (334) learners sat for the IGCSE examinations with a total of 2747 subject entries. The Region ranked 5th on the national scale in this examination.

1. OBJECTIVES during the year under review

· To improve the quality of education through training and giving of assistance to school and hostel staff and to promote effective institutional management.

· To improve the quality of education through monitoring, supervision and the professional development of teachers.

· To improve the qualifications of unqualified and under-qualified teachers in the Region by hosting the BETD programme and to expose teachers and learners to modern facilities, equipment and technology.

· To improve the quality of education through physical facility maintenance and provision, coordination of the GTZ Basic Education Project and the capturing of educational data.

· To promote HIV and AIDS awareness programmes and provision of assistance to Special Education and Life Skill teachers.

· To provide effective and efficient service by all sections under the umbrella of General Services.

· To improve the quality of the Literacy Programme through monitoring, training and assessment.

The section held a number of cluster meetings, visited most of the rural schools, held two workshops for hostel staff in Keetmanshoop and Karasburg respectively and trained five newly appointed principals and six Heads of Department. Schools were also visited for evaluation and assessment as well as monitoring of Continuous Assessment. The professionals were also actively involved in the HIV/AIDS combating programmes such as the Window of Hope and My Future, My Choice. They were also actively involved in the Traditional Skills Programme and managed to get twenty-three (23) schools involved in the programme. A total of forty schools and a number of private hostels benefited from the School Feeding Programme. The number of children who benefited stood at 6276. The Inspectors were also involved in disciplinary investigations and hearings.

The seven (7) Advisory Teachers visited twenty-four (24) primary schools, three (3) junior secondary schools and ten (10) senior secondary schools. They were engaged in classroom observations, demonstration lessons, face-to-face discussions and school-based training. One Advisory Teacher acted as a relief teacher for three weeks at one primary school. The professionals also focused on Continuous Assessment which involved some twenty-five (25) teachers. Training was done in History, Geography, Home Economics, Fashion and Fabrics, Afrikaans and English to acquaint teachers with the Namibian Senior Secondary Certificate syllabuses (NSSC). Training was also given to HIGCSE English teachers to conduct English Oral Examinations. A further twenty-one (21) teachers were, as part of the Afrila Programme, trained to facilitate the cluster training for the implementation of the new Lower Primary Curriculum.

The Advisory Teachers were also exposed to the Education and Training Sector Improvement Programme (ETSIP), were involved in BETD tutoring, curriculum panel discussions at NIED, the marking of examination scripts and the HIV/AIDS combating programmes. They had also a lot of success with their annual debating competition.

The section conducted capacity building workshops in Basic Counselling Skills which involved thirty (30) teachers from fifteen schools and Bereavement Counselling which benefited eighteen (18) teachers from nine (9) schools. The Regional School Counsellor also gave training to the counselling support in the Keetmanshoop Cluster and trained care-givers at the Keetmanshoop Children’s Home. The School Counsellor herself as well as her assistant attended a number of capacity-building workshops, one of which focused on Play Therapy. A total of fifteen (15) learners were transferred to special schools in Windhoek and Klein-Aub.

The Regional Counsellor visited a number of schools to assist Special Class and Life Skills teachers and held meetings with secondary school teachers to acquaint them with the new syllabus. Her other activities included serving on the working group, which revised the Life Skills Syllabuses and doing hearing screening and aptitude tests. The Regional Counsellor and HIV/AIDS Coordinator were also intensively involved HIV/AIDs combating programmes in the Region. Schools were visited and teachers trained, schools were assisted in planning their World HIV/AIDS day and monitoring of My Future My Choice was done.

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3.4. PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

The section comprising of one education planner, one data typist and one statistician was again responsible for the 15th School Day data collection, Annual Report and Annual Education Census. The education planner also facilitated the annual strategic planning workshop which was funded by the GTZ Basic Education Project. The Work Plan for 2005/2006 was drafted after this workshop. A large part of the education planner’s work for the year was monitoring renovation projects in the Region. Sites in Karasburg, Grunau, Luderitz, Aroab and Berseba were visited. The KFW school cluster facility projects in Luderitz and Berseba were also handed over towards the end of the financial year. The School Maintenance Policy of the Ministry also kicked off and JA Nel Secondary School and Ernst Jager Junior Secondary School were included in the pilot phase.

It was impossible for the Region to implement all its strategic objectives for 2005/2006 due to the ineffectiveness of the Ministry of Works, Transport and Communication. The second phase of the renovation project at Kaitsi !Gubeb Primary School could not be completed and the 1st phase of the renovation of Karasburg Primary School had to be moved towards the new financial year. The classrooms planned for Luderitz Secondary School was also moved to the new financial year. The education planner started the feasibility study for the implementation of the junior secondary education in Koes and was also involved in investigations and disciplinary hearings.

The TRC’s main business for the year was promotion of the BEDT, hosting cluster meetings and education workshops and providing library and information technology (IT) services. Thirty three (33) students were selected in June 2005 for Year 1 and Year 2 and each student teacher was allocated with a monitor for the School Based Activities (SBA). A total of 97% of SBA portfolios were completed and submitted to the TRC manager.

Three BETD contact sessions were arranged which were attended by 99% of the registered student teachers. Business Management Education was also introduced for the first time. The IT enrolment for the new academic year totalled 98 student teachers and twenty five (25) out of the 32 students graduated in 2005. The TRCs also played host to cluster meetings, workshops and line ministry activities. The Keetmanshoop and Karasburg TRCs hosted 168 activities, which were attended by 1677 and 1014 participants respectively.

The mobilization of the communities for the literacy classes took place during February 2005 and the programme kicked off on April 5, 2005. A total of 33 promoters were trained in Keetmanshoop, Luderitz and Karasburg from the 6 to 17 March, 2005. The training for the Family Literacy Programme took place early in January and the classes ran from 23 January, 2005 to 13 April 2006. The annual examinations for the three stages and AUPE were taken in October and November 2005. A total of 304 candidates sat for the stage one to three examinations while two hundred and forty three candidates sat for AUPE. All the literacy centres could not be visited due to the shortage of vehicles.

The activities of library services comprised visits to public and school libraries, training of library assistants and the processing of books. An attempt was also made to visited rural school libraries such as Blouwes, Vaalgras and Nowak primary schools. The library staff also attended workshops on Book selection, the promotion of libraries and reading, and Reading Skills Development in Young Children. The Acting Regional Librarian was also instrumental in staff changes at Aranos, Bethanie, Marietnal, Warmbad and Gibeon.

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Among other duties the personnel administration division dealt with 121 new appointments, 23 promotions, 18 transfers, 23 retirements and 17 resignations.3.8.24.1. Only one revenue inspector (Accountant 2A L2) was responsible for the Karas Region. All revenue points were visited and revenue statements up till February 2006 have been forwarded to Head Office.4.2.All payments have also been forwarded to Head Office for processing and even big accounts were settled in time. The Region did manage to solve problems pertaining to accounts such as the Municipality, Telecom, Selco and even Iway in good time. Commitment registers are kept up to date on a monthly basis.

4.3. The Salary Office could improve on its performance due to better liaison with the Personnel Office. Fewer problems were experienced than the previous year. School staff has been requested to submit their queries through the offices of principals and in writing to minimize the volume of telephone calls. All overtime payments for hostel staff have now been concluded. The section also managed to deal more effectively with resignations and retirements.

4.4. The Stock Control Staff managed to visit sixty seven (67) stock points in the Region. All hostels received mattresses, cutlery and crockery. All orders for cleaning materials and text books were delivered to schools.

It is clear that the various sections could not do their work as the planned for 2005/2006. The worst constraints were staff shortages, lack of vehicles and lack of computers and the necessary technology and the lack of funds. These constraints are still hampering effectiveness.

It is imperative that the Karas Education Office be provided as soon as possible with an adequate number of vehicles, that the necessary funding be provided to buy personal computers and that the vacant posts could be filled.

Two colleagues passed away during the previous financial year. The late Dina Steenkamp, the former Advisory Teacher for commercial subjects, was involved in a car accident on her way home from Okahandja where she was on official business. Dina who was born on March 3, 1961 died on October 8, 2005. She will always be remembered for her diligence and commitment to her study field, her teachers and the region. Dina hold the distinction that she was the first, and maybe the only, black teacher in this country who was given the opportunity to mark Cape Education examination papers in the pre-independence years. Dina was a true professional.

Katrina Kisting, better known as Babes or Aunty Babes was born on June 22, 1951 and died on March 8, 2006. Babes was one of the oldest employees in the Personnel Division of the Karas Region. Babes will always be remembered as a capable, effective, accommodating and friendly personnel clerk. She was oldest member in the division and was looked up to by her colleagues. Babes died after a sickbed and spell in hospital.

Babes and Dina will always be part of us. They will only really die the day we forget them. That will not happen!

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