Please permit me space in your newspaper to add my voice to the concerns recently expressed about the untenable education system in the country by inter alia the principals of the University of Namibia and the Polytechnic of Namibia and by the Teachers’ Union of Namibia (TUN), Namibia National Students’ Organization (NANSO) and Namibia National Teachers’ Union (NANTU) as well as the general public.

The seemingly endless and extremely high failure rates in the country’s schools is an indication that our political leaders have either failed to plan and or that they have planned to fail. This situation is made possible by the ineffective, inefficient and highly corrupt fashion manner inherent in the implementation by the Administration of former President Dr. Sam Nujoma between 1990 and 2005 of the socio-economic and political system of this country.

Firstly, the controversial Cambridge education system was swiftly imposed upon this country with a stroke of the pen by persons who were apparently driven solely by the revolutionary zeal hell-bent on changing everything associated with apartheid South Africa and who lacked basic evolutionary insight. Then the manufacturers and vendors of the Cambridge education system, whose sole motive was obviously to make a quick profit, on the other hand, took advantage of the poor and misguided judgment by our political leaders. The vendors of the education system saw this as a golden business opportunity to market their commodity. And they so sold the Cambridge education system to our Government!

The Cambridge education system was also imposed upon this country in a cart-before-the-horses and castle-in-the-air approach, without first having laid down the foundation for its successful implementation. This includes lack of appropriate human, technical and financial resources as well as appropriate indicators to monitor its successes and challenges.

Thirdly, the imposition of the Cambridge education system came at the peak of globalization trends and the neo-liberal capitalist agenda characterized by rolling back the State and wholesale privatization of state-owned corporations. Such corporations were supposed to help Government deliver essential public services. By "essential public services" I mean those life-saving commodities, such as water, electricity and sanitation and services, such as education, adequate health care, adequate housing, communications and transportation to especially the socio-economically disadvantaged citizens numbering hundreds of thousands. The privatization of NamWater, NamPower, NamCol, NamPost, Telecom, TransNamib and Air Namibia are among the living examples of this neo-liberal, inhumane and insane capitalist agenda being unscrupulously implemented in this country under the cloak of so-called free enterprise.

Fourthly, this building of a-castle-in-the-air education system is doomed by several other factors: the phasing out in 1994 of State-administered pre-primary schooling and the gross neglect of early childhood education; the banning of the Afrikaans language and its wholesale replacement with English as the sole medium of instruction; the introduction of specialized BETD teacher training system; the introduction of school governing boards and the reduction of the duties and powers of the school principal, which had destroyed discipline in schools; and the introduction of the school development fund system to be financed mainly, if not exclusively, by the parents, amid gross income disparities and social inequities. These factors have greatly contributed to the destruction of the education system in this country!

Fifthly, the biggest root cause, however, for the collapsing of not only the education system but also the health and other public service systems in the country constitutes the highly corrupt and clientalist political system, which encourages and rewards expediency and dishonesty.

Part of the problem is the apparent inability or failure on the part of especially our former President Nujoma and his Cabinet colleagues to perceive that there is a clear distinction between the State, on the one hand, and the ruling SWAPO Party, on the other. As a consequence of such failure, unqualified, inexperienced and often even semi-literate people, simply because of their real or proclaimed political affiliation to the ruling party are often automatically put in charge of vital State departments where they give often faulty instructions to even people who are experienced and have the necessary theoretical qualifications to make the system work. At the end of the day the performance of such State departments are negatively affected by jealousy and other interpersonal rivalry. This state of affairs also has very serious consequences on the delivery of essential public services.

At the expense of effective education for our learners in our education system, for example, when the generally-trained teachers (i.e. teachers who can teach any and all subjects) are placed under specialized (those who can teach only one subject) Basic Education Teachers’ Diploma (BETD) teachers. At the expense of adequate health care, this is also what happens in our hospitals where specialized (who can only treat certain diseases or perform one specific medical function) Cuban-trained doctors are posted in hospitals all over the country while there is an urgent need for generalized doctors (those who can treat any all diseases). At the expense of effective combating crime and maintaining law and order, our police force is awash with highly corrupt or inefficient warrant officers, chief inspectors, deputy commissioners most of whom are functionally illiterate and or inexperienced police officers who are, nevertheless, put in charge of their experienced colleagues, simply because of their real or perceived allegiance to the ruling party.

At the end of the day all these public officials would do anything to please those high-ranking political leaders who in the first place made it possible for their appointment or under whose leadership such posting had been realized.

Political corruption is also one of the root causes of bad governance in this country, characterized by lack of discipline and by corruption and mismanagement, cronyism, nepotism and favoritism and greed as well as wholesale politicization of the civil service.

The situation is also compounded by the lack of a common loyalty to one Namibian State and or reluctance to follow a common standard of values and principles to govern and guide the actions of inter alia the President, Ministers and Members of Parliament. However, in 1990 the Namibian nation had adopted the Namibian Constitution, which was supposed to constitute such common standard for behavior and achievement in Government.

Nonetheless and lamentably, our public officials, when carrying out their supposedly public duties and responsibilities, rarely invoke the values and principles contained in the Namibian Constitution.

All and any of our top public officials have made an oath or affirmation in terms of Articles 30 (for the President), 38 (for Ministers and Deputy Ministers), 55 (for National Assemblers) and 71 (National Councilors) of the Constitution. Nonetheless, these and other Constitutional provisions are never cited or invoked as the authority upon which Members of Parliament, the President, Ministers and Deputy Ministers base their actions or public pronouncements. It is like the Constitution does not exist! Lately public servants are told to observe provisions contained in the SWAPO election manifesto of 2004 when formulating and implementing this country’s development policies.

I would like to see our current President His Excellency Lucas Pohamba to lead by example of internalizing the values and principles as are embodied in our Constitution. The Constitution sets out neutral, impartial and meritocratic guidelines, which must be adhered to by all and sundry in the public service, regardless of their political affiliation. I URGE all and any of especially our high-ranking politicians to work in accordance with the oath or affirmation, which they had made before taking office!

As a starting point in order to address and redress the problems plaguing our education system, I strongly support our President and Prime Minister’s vision aimed at the neutralization, impartialization, de-politicization and meritocratization of the public service and to combat corruption and mismanagement, which are widespread in the public service.

Phil ya Nangoloh

Executive Director of NSHR