Teaching facing a professionalism crisis – Haingura

Namibian teachers are facing a crisis of professionalism, with many joining the profession as a last resort, says former teachers’ union leader and now chief education officer for professional development at the National Institute for Educational Development (Nied), Basilius Haingura.

“I’m saying that teachers are not professional. It is easy to join the teaching career. Each and every year, when the higher learning institutions are opening, you might find most of the people are joining the faculty of education. It’s a sort of like a last resort for them to get employment,” Haingura said.

He said this at Swakopmund on Friday, during the opening of the Erongo leg of the regional consultation meeting on the Professional Teachers Act, which is in the process of being developed by the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture.

The purpose of the act is to improve the quality of education in the country by ensuring that teachers are held to high professional standards and are part of a regulated and recognised organisation.

Stakeholders have recommended the establishment of the act for over a decade.

To facilitate the development thereof, a steering committee was appointed in August 2021 to gather input from stakeholders.

The ministry, in collaboration with United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), is conducting regional consultations in all 14 regions.

During the meeting, there were presentations on the background of the teaching profession in Namibia and a proposed professional teachers’ scheme.

A lack of professional status can negatively impact the motivation and quality of teaching in the country, Haingura said.

“Our education system is not delivering as expected,” he said, highlighting the public’s dissatisfaction with the performance and relevance of the education system in Namibia.

Haingura said different approaches were taken to address the issues, including revising teacher training programmes and requesting institutions to review their programmes to improve the quality of teachers.

He said it is challenging to compare Namibia’s education system with those of other countries, due to the lack of determined standards.

He reiterated that there are no established standards for teachers in Namibia, which contributes to overall challenges in the education system.

Implementing clear standards and guidelines would help to professionalise the teaching profession and improve the overall quality of education.

To address these challenges, Haingura is advocating the professionalisation of teachers through collaboration with higher institutions and the establishment of an organisation to oversee and maintain high-quality teacher training, set standards, and regulate the teaching profession.

He emphasised the importance of setting standards and competencies for teachers, ensuring they are well-equipped to interact with their students.

“Our status [of teachers] is very low… in the presence of this particular body, it will raise the status of the teaching profession,” he said.

In addition to the establishment of the Professional Teacher’s Act, Erongo governor Neville Andre stressed during his keynote address the need for investing in the development and support of teachers.

“You need well-equipped and qualified teachers to see a better education system in terms of performance. We must do better,” he said.
He encouraged participants to contribute their insights and experiences.

“Let us, as we are sitting here today, take ownership in this consultation. Let us also be mindful that after us, the next generation of teachers will also live through this document,” Andre noted.

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