Windhoek: Namibia is failing to derive optimal value from its substantial investment in education due to significant learner attrition between Grades 8 and 10, economist and researcher, Salomo Hei, has said. His remarks come ahead of the tabling of the national budget on Thursday by Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises, Ericah Shafudah, where the education sector is once again expected to receive the largest allocation.

According to Namibia Press Agency, Hei said although education accounts for nearly 28 percent of the total national budget, the high dropout rate is directly contributing to the country's persistent and worsening youth unemployment crisis. He noted that while the sector continues to receive the single largest share of public expenditure, the current allocation does not sufficiently address the skills mismatch affecting productivity within the domestic labour market.

Hei stated, 'We are losing quite a huge number of young people between Grades 8 and 10, and that contributes to the already existing unemployment problem.' He explained that many of these learners enter the labour market without basic vocational or technical skills, leaving them ill-equipped for employment in high-growth sectors such as green hydrogen, oil and gas, and modernised mining operations.

Hei recommended that the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture standardise best practices from high-performing public schools and replicate those models in underperforming rural schools. On corporate taxation, Hei welcomed the recent reduction of the non-mining corporate tax rate to 28 percent, describing it as necessary relief for local businesses. However, he emphasised that the fiscal concession must translate into tangible job creation for young people.

'The corporate tax reduction is a welcome relief for businesses because they could potentially turn that into job creation initiatives or employment opportunities for our young graduates,' he said. Hei further called for greater clarity and certainty regarding the criteria governing Special Economic Zones to enable the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector to become a meaningful driver of economic growth. He added that a reduced tax rate for SMEs operating within these zones could serve as a catalyst for formalising the informal economy.