Teacher innovation and leadership should be encouraged: Nghipondoka

Share This Article:

Minister of Education, Arts and Culture, Anna Nghipondoka, on Wednesday said teacher leadership and innovation should be encouraged in Namibia in order to steer educational transformation for the betterment of the country’s education sector.

Nghipondoka made the remarks in a press release issued in honour of World Teacher’s Day (WTD), under the theme ‘The transformation of education begins with teachers.’

While the focus is always placed on learners in terms of what and how they should learn, WTD reminds Namibians of the teachers’ individual talents and abilities, which must be sustained through collaboration and support, she said.

Teachers, the minister noted, have played and must continue to play a central role in re-configuring the ministry’s new social contract for the sake of education, the shared futures, and the country’s social-economic development.

“We are interdependent and interconnected, and your ability to transform has a direct impact on how far we can cooperate and collaborate. Teachers are the engines at the heart of our educational system, and it is impossible to provide inclusive and equitable quality education to every learner without them,” Nghipondoka said.

She went on to call on teachers to transform learners meaningfully through education by equipping them with foundational skills, stimulating their curiosity, building their ability to learn, and encouraging them to continue learning throughout their lives, by instilling a sense of belonging and responsibility for one another and other people.

Education Executive Director Sanet Steenkamp, in an interview with Nampa, said WTD serves as a reminder to Namibians that teachers are the country’s primary change agents as they mould Namibian learners, adding that their efforts are recognised and appreciated by the ministry.

“Our teachers serve as facilitators of the knowledge and skill acquisition process. We hold them in high regard as key figures in educational and social transformation,” she said.

Steenkamp further said teachers are at the heart of transformation and that as a country, Namibians can only strive for an empowered and educated workforce that is professionalised, well-trained, well-educated, motivated, and supported throughout.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency