Equality of Opportunity in Education and Training - Namibia Education for All (EFA) National Plan of Action 2002 - 2015

Namibia Education For All (EFA) National Plan of Action (NAP) 2002 - 2015

The EFA- NAP is implemented by several national authorities under the overall supervision of the Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture, which is also responsible for the provision, monitoring and evaluation of education programmes. Each EFA goal, adopted by Dakar Framework for Action is linked with national priority objectives. The following national objectives are concerned with promoting gender equality:

Section II

2.1. Reinforcement of the free compulsory primary education for all children

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• Strengthening the free and compulsory Upper Primary Education Programme by rationalizing access, and provision of adequate facilities (additional classrooms, teaching/learning materials)
  
• Improving working conditions and professional development (training and in-service training of primary school teachers) nationwide
  
• Revising any policies that tend to hinder the opportunity of any child to benefit fully from primary education (e.g. uniforms, levies, transportation etc)
• Strengthening schools' support structures (Parents Teachers Association, voluntary parent teacher aides, etc)
  
  

2.2 Provision of equal access and educational opportunities to quality education for all children to complete primary education

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• Revising the primary school programme to ensure high quality education and to design appropriate teaching and learning conditions that would enhance retention, transition and self fulfillment among primary school children
• Revising the procedures of supervision, inspection, monitoring, examinations and placements to remove any elements that tend to reduce children's interest in school and retain those that encourage children to continue to learn even outside the school
  
• Ensuring the access, equity, and quality demands of the basic education programmes including mobile schools, school feeding programmes for the needy, new staffing norms, and the pre-service and in-service programmes
  

3.1 Ensure that equal access and opportunity to junior secondary education is provided free for all children resident in Namibia irrespective of sex, location, or other considerations; and all schools with partial junior secondary phase offer complete junior secondary education.

Strategies:

• Expanding facilities and teaching-learning materials for Junior Secondary Education in all parts of the country to ensure that all children and out of school youth have equal access to education
• Revising the content of Junior Secondary School curriculum to ensure it meets the needs of all children including the introduction of scientific, technological and occupational life skills, as well as programmes on HIV/AIDS, school health education, environmental and gender education, democracy and human rights education
  
• Upgrading the capacities of skills training centres
• Upgrading the professionalism of teachers of junior secondary teachers
  
• Revision of the pedagogy, monitoring and evaluation of junior secondary curriculum to ensure appropriate retention of learners and transition through the system.
  

3.2 Provision and improvement of the programmes, facilities, staffing, and management of good quality to cater for the needs of all categories of children and youth, and ensuring that occupational and life skills are made available in all JS educational programmes

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• Expanding and strengthening guidance and counseling services in all junior secondary schools and youth development centres
  
• Creating and maintaining a database of educational and career opportunities and providers in Namibia, which are accessible to all, especially girls and youth in rural areas
• Establishing a Roster of relevant and appropriate life skills for youth development as well as competencies for various learners in the National Youth Development Centres
• Establishing occupational, career and life skills Centres in the 13 political regions and other strategic parts of the country, particularly in the rural areas as models and introduce relevant skills for the improvement of each area.
  
  

4.1 Expansion and improvement of access and opportunities in literacy and adult basic education programmes nationwide to achieve a 95 % rate at the end of the plan period

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• Revising and expanding existing programmes of life-long learning to ensure adequate access for all Namibian adults and out of school youth.
  
• Expanding and rationalizing national adult literacy and continuing education programmes with special emphasis on women, vulnerable groups in rural areas and informal settlements.
  
• Revising and strengthening adult education and community learning development centres (CLDCs).
  
• Promoting, expanding and strengthening collaboration and participation of all partners and NGOs in the provision of adult education and training, and the community development programmes.
  
• Creating and maintaining a database of all adult and continuing education providers and career opportunities in Namibia
  
  

4.2 Ensure that vocational, occupational and life skills form part of the adult literacy and non-formal basic education programmes to be available to out-of-school youth and adults, especially rural women and people with special needs in education

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• Strengthening vocational and career education and life skills as part of adult education and community development.
  
• Establishing and strengthening farm schools and broadening the reach to informal hostels to encourage the unemployed rural youth to embrace improved career skills and appropriate community cooperative living.
  
• Providing clear national policy guidelines on skills development and acquisition for self employment for youths and adults.
  
• Promoting the use of mass media for community sensitization on vital life-long learning messages and skills.
  
• Encouraging women through small grants and scholarships to take up vocational education to empower them to obtain entrepreneurial skills.
  
  

5.2 Implementing sensitization, mass mobilization and remedial programmes targeting women and girls in rural areas, ethnic minorities, orphans and vulnerable children to eradicate any form of discrimination or marginalization in access and opportunities in education

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• Promoting open and distance education programmes to offer learning opportunities for people who have completed upper primary education and above to further their learning.
  
• Adopting programme strategies that will encourage increase in the proportion of non-formal out-of school learners who obtain higher skills and better grades for employment.
  
• Establishing criteria and standard norms for determining and promotion of access and equity in non-formal education especially for people living in difficult circumstances and other vulnerable groups and women.
  
• Establishing special and remedial programmes for the disadvantaged and physically impaired targeting, particularly women and girls and those in the rural communities.