The Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, in collaboration with its stakeholders, will this week host a national conference on education to deliberate on the education system in relation to a number of transformative programmes.
The conference, set for 02 to 05 August, will take place under the theme ‘Transforming education towards inclusion and quality in the context of global challenges: re-imagining 2023 and beyond.’
In a media statement here Sunday, the ministry’s executive director Sanet Steenkamp said the meeting will also take stock of progress made in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG4 – quality education), while reviewing the recommendations of the 2011 National Conference on Education, and provide an opportunity for Namibia to recommit and rededicate efforts.
Steenkamp said the theme of the conference has been changed to reflect the impact of climate change, the economic downturn following 2014, and the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, all of which have an impact on education in Namibia. She said these are some of the global challenges countries must address by strategising their planning systems for the next 10 years.
“It also intends to address the growing learning gap between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds, which has been exacerbated by school closures and lockdowns over the last two years. The emphasis is on including learners from disadvantaged backgrounds, those who are marginalised, and those who have special needs,” she added.
Steenkamp noted that the conference was preceded by regional consultations that took place from 30 May to 13 June 2022 to unpack challenges affecting education and positive teaching and learning outcomes and obtain public input through engagements and discussions.
All recommendations from all regions were consolidated, and it covered the entire education sector, ranging from early childhood development and pre-primary level to secondary education, vocational education and higher education.
The executive director stated that the conference will produce actionable recommendations for the five transformative thematic areas of inclusive, equitable, safe, and healthy schools, teachers, teaching and the teaching profession, learning and skills for life, work, and sustainable development, digital learning and transformation and educational financing.
The theme of the conference is related to the UN Transforming Education Summit 2022, which will be held in the United States of America next month.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
