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2015 Education for All Global Monitoring Report and the “Virtual Learning Community of Educators launched in Namibia
UNESCO Windhoek office, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the Faculty of Education, University of Namibia (UNAM), launched the 2015 Education for All Global Monitoring Report (GMR) ‘Education for All 2000-2015: Achievements and Challenges’, and the ‘Virtual Learning Community of Educators in Namibia’ on 22 April 2015. The Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report is an independent publication commissioned by UNESCO on behalf of the international community and has tracked progress on the six EFA goals for the past 15 years.
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Presenting key findings from the report, UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office for Southern Africa, Prof. Hubert Gijzen noted that globally, just one third of countries have achieved all of the measurable Education for All (EFA) goals set in 2000. None achieved them in sub-Saharan Africa, and only seven countries in the region achieved even the most watched goal, that of ‘Universal Primary Enrolment’. Sixteen of the twenty lowest ranked countries in progress towards ‘Education for All’ are in sub-Saharan Africa. Prof. Gijzen emphasized 2015 as a defining moment in time, with the international community moving into the Post-2015 agenda of transitioning from Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Speaking on behalf of the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, the Director of Programmes and Quality Assurance Ms. Edda Bohn noted that while Namibia had made significant progress, there was still more work to be done.
The report shows that Namibia is not likely to achieve a primary enrolment target of at least 95 percent by 2015. The expected primary enrolment rate will remain between 80 and 94%, which places Namibia in an intermediate position to achieve the goals, but it is also considered as one of the countries moving slowly towards this goal.
In light of 15 years of progress towards Education for All, the second part of the event focused on the ‘Capacity Development for Quality in Pre- and Lower Primary Teacher Education in Namibia’ project, under the Funds-in-Trust agreement between UNESCO and the Government of the People’s Republic of China. The project is part of a framework that aims to accelerate progress towards the attainment of quality education for all and education-related Millennium Development Goals, by enhancing the capacity of the teacher education system in training adequate numbers of qualified teachers. Since the official project launch on 24 February 2014, the project is being implemented by the UNESCO Windhoek Office in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and University of Namibia’s Faculty of Education.
The Dean of Faculty of Education at the University of Namibia, Dr. Charmaine Villet, presented the project’s progress and achievements against the expected results and indicated the planned project activities for the next months.
The Director of the Continuous Professional Development Unit at UNAM presented the project’s newly established ‘Virtual Learning Community of Educators in Namibia’. The forum aims at promoting a learning community of practitioners to facilitate discussion and communication amongst key stakeholders in the education field.
It does this through the provision of easy access to materials and ideas for Namibian educators. The forum will be institutionalized within UNAM’s Continuous Professional Development Unit, enhancing its sustainability.
The Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, H.E. Mr. Xin Shunkang celebrated the partnership of the Chinese government with UNESCO and congratulated the implementing partners for the achievements.
The Minister of Education, Arts and Culture, Hon. Katrina Hanse-Himarwa and the Minister of Higher Education, Training and Innovation, Honourable Itah Kandjii-Murangi emphasised the importance of collaborative efforts and minimisation of work done in isolation, as a means of fast-tracking overall progress towards overcoming challenges within the education sector.
The two Ministers fully endorsed the “Virtual Learning Community of Educators in Namibia” indicating their excitement in seeing the impact of the forum.
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| Author(s) |
UNESCO Windhoek Office |
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| Editorial Contact: |
Mwatile Ndinoshiho |
| - Email |
n.mwatile@unesco.org |
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| Publication Date |
12 Apr 2015 |
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