Angelina Jolie Boarding Primary School in Kakuma was alive with color, music, and powerful messages of hope as learners, teachers, [...]Read More...

Most African governments have consistently failed to meet global and regional education funding targets to ensure quality public education.

Deputy executive director of education, innovation, youth, sport, arts and culture Edda Bohn highlighted Namibia’s education progress and challenges while reflecting on the Day of the African Child and the Soweto uprising on Monday. She said access to education has greatly improved, with around 98% of children in Namibia enrolled for school. “We are very proud to say that close to 100%, 98% in fact, have access to education. The main challenge for us is to keep the throughput constant, ensuring that learners who start school complete it and achieve meaningful outcomes,” she said. Despite these gains, Bohn said overcrowded classrooms, lack of infrastructure, and disparities between urban and rural schools remain significant hurdles. She stated the ministry is working through a rolling budget system and medium-term expenditure frameworks to address these gaps. Bohn pointed to the government’s efforts since 2022 to prioritise education funding and the importance of partnerships in transforming the education sector. “Education is a shared responsibility, and we can only do it together. We are allocating resources and calling on partners to help achieve the goals we’ve set,” she said. To support rural and marginalised communities, she that the ministry uses an incentive system to attract qualified teachers to remote areas, often referred to as a “bush allowance”. She also highlighted progress in expanding digital connectivity between schools, including plans to connect 50 more schools by 2030. Bohn referenced the Namibia Safe Schools Framework, launched in 2018, which encourages close collaboration between schools and their surrounding communities. “We are retraining schools and communities on the framework. We also emphasise access control, school fencing, and security services to make sure all children feel safe,” she said. As the country celebrates African children and reflects on their rights, Bohn reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to ensuring every Namibian child not only has a place in school but also receives a quality education in a safe environment. Speaking to Desert FM as well was general Mike Mari, a survivor of the 1976 Soweto uprising, who was a Grade 9 student at the time. He described 16 June 1976 as a normal school day “until chaos erupted”. Mari said students from other schools entered his classroom and urged everyone to join the protest against Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in schools. “We were in the classroom and suddenly there was commotion and chaos . . . students came into our class with placards saying ‘Away with Afrikaans’,” he said. Mari said the protest quickly grew, with students marching from one school to another, aiming to converge at Orlando Stadium, but before they could reach their destination, the police caught up with them in Mofolo and opened fire. Mari recalled the tear gas and live ammunition used against the students. “We tasted tear gas for the first time, and we scattered. Bottle stores, shops, and municipal offices were burned. White-owned vehicles were stoned. It was traumatic and chaotic,” he said. Mari said he lost a schoolmate and close friend during the protest, describing the moment as haunting. His friend had been shot and didn’t even realise it until blood began to show, and later died in hospital. The following days saw even more unrest, Mari said, with arrests and increased police presence across Soweto. Many young people fled to other provinces or went into exile. Mari himself left South Africa in 1977. “Soweto became a ghost town. If you were a student and moving around, you were arrested. That’s when many went into exile,” he said. The post 98% of children have access to education – deputy education ED appeared first on The Namibian.

Parent-led school feeding

In this episode of the Decolonizing Global Health podcast, we talk to APHRC's Nicholas Etyang' on the Soweto Uprising, children's rights and working with you...