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Want some insight in Namibian politics? I am no expert but have 16 years (1995-2011) of writing on Namibian politics in The Namibian newspaper and can probably offer you a bit more than you know about the who's who in the Namibian political zoo. You will also find a few articles commenting on other issues of concern in the country. Hope you find it interesting. - Christof

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Get rid of lazy teachers

Get rid of lazy teachers

By: CHRISTOF MALETSKY

LAST week somewhere in the US (Central Falls, Rhode Island) all the teachers (principal included) at an underperforming high school were fired.

The school is the only one in the tiny, impoverished city and only half of its pupils graduate while only seven percent of 11th-graders, who are aged 16 to 17, were proficient in maths in 2009.
The teachers were fired as part of a plan to make-over failing schools.
Meanwhile in Namibia there is an uproar from teachers in some regions over the extension of their working hours until 16h00 in the afternoon.
On Thursday newspapers carried an advert from the teachers’ union warning the Government not to impose extra hours on teachers as it is not part of their agreement. At the same time Nantu said they will not compromise on quality of service delivery (presumably teaching).
Now, if you have a close look at our education statistics you will realise that only three out of every 10 pupils who enroll in primary schools actually complete their secondary school.
Of the around 404 783 pupils at primary level only around six per cent ultimately make it to tertiary level.
Some of us in the private sector work from 07h30 to 18h00 Monday to Friday. In the case of journalists at private institutions, we are actually on duty 24 hours a day without any overtime payment.
Why? Because we want to give our best. It is about dedication and commitment.
It is also a fact that not all teachers lazy.
That is why you have a region like Otjozondjupa leapfrogging from seventh position in 2008 to first in last year’s Grade 12 Ordinary Level examinations.
The good results didn’t just fall from heaven. They must have worked hard - school management, teachers and pupils.
But then you also had a region like Hardap which was first the previous year and slumped to sixth in the 2009 exams.
I am sure that the pupils will sink further into the quagmire of non-performance if nothing is done.
The Khomas Region, where the regional education director recently instructed teachers in Government schools to work until 16h00, plummeted from second spot to fourth for full-time candidates in Grade 12.
There needs to be drastic changes in the attitude of the teachers who refuse to go the extra mile for the pupils.
Why should almost all other civil servants work eight hours a day and teachers won’t comply just because it has been like that in the past.
If our educational output is not according to the desired levels, things can’t continue to be business as usual.
I do not pin the blame on teachers alone. I can’t do that because education is a very inclusive field and teachers, pupils, parents and political leaders all need to play their parts.
We also know that the Government is legendary in failing to deliver the necessary services like textbooks and classrooms on time while the conditions of employment for some teachers are laughable, the remuneration appalling and exploitative. Thus every week teachers leave Government’s employ, citing greener pastures elsewhere.
Of course, Government devotes a large portion of its financial resources to education - although nearly 80 per cent goes on the wage bill - every financial year and the country is among one of the highest investors in education on the African continent.
I suggest that good teachers be rewarded and lazy ones disciplined. It is not the unions f job to protect lazy teachers just because they are members of the union.
In fact, Nantu or any other union’s job must also be to see that the work quality of their members is high and that they show serious commitment.
How do you explain the good results coming in from some rural schools?
While many complain about the lack of laboratory equipment, libraries and other teachings aids, some rural schools managed to outperform others in main towns.
Last year the Oshigambo Senior Secondary came third (Grade 12) nationally after being sixth the previous year. Negumbo senior Secondary was sixth, up from 13th in 2008.
Others like Gabriel Taapopi SSS are in the top 20 of Namibia’s Grade 12 Ordinary Level results.
On the contrary, none of the high schools in Karas, Hardap, Caprivi, Ohangwena and Kunene made it to the top 20.
Should we still say that it has to do with resources?
Perhaps it is time to revisit the Education Code which was launched in 2004 when John Mutorwa was Minister of Basic Education and Nahas Angula in charge of Higher Education.
That code provides guidelines for teachers to deliver effective teaching and learning as well to set basic professional requirements and minimum standards of professional conduct for teachers. It calls on teachers to take their tasks as educators seriously.
When he launched it at the time Angula said if a parent found a teacher not following the Education Code, they could even take the culprit to court.
I also wish those who have made it their vocation to remind us what the Constitution says about Affirmative Action and the reversal of past discriminatory laws which has now given them ownership over, among others, mineral and mining rights, would also tell the teachers that the same document says gall persons shall have the right to education”.
Education can turn out to be the single most effective black economic empowerment strategy, or redistribution tool, if all of us put our minds to it.
For me the spectre of indulging those teachers who refuse to work extra hours because they want things to be “business as usual” is too ghastly to contemplate. I rest my case.

* This article first appeared in The Namibian

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