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National Literacy Programme - Namibia
Source: South African Institute for Distance Education
The National Literacy Programme in Namibia (NLPN) is part of the Government’s commitment to national development and education for all. According to the Constitution and the national education policy, Government is responsible for providing basic education to all residents, including adults. In September 1992, after careful preparation by the Department of Adult Education and Culture, the NLPN was launched. It would build upon a long tradition of literacy and adult education, dating back to the early activities of the missionaries, and continuing programmes of the churches, NGOs, and SWAPO during the liberation struggle.
The programme has gradually expanded since 1992, from about 15,000 learners taught by 700 promoters (literacy teachers) in the first year to about 36,000 learners and about 2000 promoters in all three stages in 1994/95. The programme continues to expand, and in 1999 there are some 46,000 learners.
Studies revealed that 35% of the Namibian population above the age of 15 (and 38% of the Namibian population above the age of 16) were illiterate in 1991. This means that at least 300,000 people lack basic literacy and numeracy skills. This poses serious constraints on their active participation in the social and economic development of Namibia.
The Directorate of Adult Basic Education (DABE) is dedicated to provision of literacy and numeracy skills to disadvantaged adults and out-of-school youth to enable them to contribute more effectively to national development.
Currently the Directorate tries to satisfy its Mission through three related programmes, namely the National Literacy Programme in Namibia (NPLN), the Adult Upper Primary Programme, the Adult Skills Development for Self Employment, and Community Learning and Development Centres. While the NLPN is a well-developed activity, the others are in their formative stages.
The goal is for Namibia to become a fully literate nation. The short-term quantitative goal is to attain 80% literacy in Namibia by the year 2000. The ultimate qualitative goal of the literacy programme and all Adult Basic Education is to improve the quality of life for all Namibians who in the past were discriminated against and marginalized. The overall programme objectives are therefore to promote social, cultural, political, and economic development. To this end, the NLPN:
Operation of the Basic Education Directorate
The Adult Basic Education Programme fulfils its functions through its five professional subdivisions and a general services subdivision. The latter handles general administrative and support functions, without which the professional divisions would not operate. The subdivisions are:
Adult Basic Education Programme
The programme is divided into three stages, each stage lasting about one year. Numeracy skills are taught throughout the three stages. A learner may repeat a stage only once.
Stage One
This is open to those at the very beginning, and materials are designed to introduce learners to the basic syllables of their own mother tongue. Learning how to write properly is an important activity of this stage.
Stage Two
This stage, which is also conducted in mother tongues, deals with intermediate learners, the majority of whom will have successfully completed Stage One. A few others will be those who dropped out of school at very early stages or those who have acquired some reading and writing skills on their own. The instructional materials at this stage are functional. This means that, while seeking to improve, reinforce, and sustain the skills acquired in Stage One, the materials will simultaneously offer useful knowledge and skills in various subjects such as in agriculture, health, small scale business, civics, etc. The NLPN hopes that discussion of the issues raised in the materials, and action which the learners may decide to take arising from the discussions, would go a long way in improving the quality of lives of the participants and of their communities.
Stage Three
Learners are introduced to basic English. The emphasis is on communicative English and reinforcing developmental activities.
The completion of the three stages in the NLPN is considered equivalent to Grade 4 in the primary school system. The Directorate is planning a curriculum for the immediate follow-up of Stage Three. This phase is known as the Adult Upper Primary Programme, and it is designed to satisfy the needs of the adult learners while at the same time offering them educational competencies equivalent to those of upper primary school. Other less formal learning activities will be available to those adults not interested in this type of certificate.
Adult Skills Development for Self-Employment
This new project is being piloted in Karas and Oshana regions with the purpose of providing the Directorate with the capacity to validate an approach to adult non-formal training activities at national, regional, and district levels. The main goal of the project is to provide a better service to the community by integrating adult education with employment creation. It is hoped that, when the project is fully operational, it will contribute to the national effort of poverty alleviation through affording communities with self-employment skills. The main beneficiaries of this project are individuals or groups of adults over the age of 18 years who were previously deprived and are now eager to venture into new occupational areas.
Programme Ownership, Cooperation, and Support
The Namibian Government is the main facilitator and sponsor of the literacy programme. However, ownership of the programme rests with the community. The community is expected to participate in all the programmes including their initiation, planning, direction, monitoring, and evaluation. Despite the constraints, which communities may have, such as poverty and inadequate means of communication, people and communities are encouraged and supported to participate in the structures, which have been created specifically to empower them to take full control of the programme and direct it to their benefit. The following structures have been set up to invite wide participation in the programme:
Partnership and Cooperation with NGOs
NGOs and the private sector can participate in the programme by:
The directorate will assist all organizations registered with the programme by supplying learning materials without charge, assisting with the training of staff, without charge, assisting the partner to set up and monitoring literacy classes.
The NLPN is an integral part of the national education system. The four major national educational goals – access, equity, quality and democracy – are guiding principles that must be realized through NLPN. (Refer to Policy Guidelines for the Second Phase, 1996 – 2000 of the National Literacy Programme in Namibia, Ministry of Basic Education and Culture, Directorate of Adult Basic Education, Windhoek, Namibia, 1997, pp. 6-7).
The Ministry of Basic Education is dependent for the success of the programme on support from all sectors of society, including political leaders, community leaders, employers in the private and public sectors, government ministries at central and regional levels, trade unions, churches, youth; women’s organizations, donors, and the media.
Some future plans include:
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