Steenkamp calls for education realignment in Hardap
Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture minister Sanet Steenkamp has called for a realignment of the Hardap region’s education strategy, urging schools to shift greater attention towards foundational learning, teacher accountability and the maintenance of education infrastructure.
Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture minister Sanet Steenkamp has called for a realignment of the Hardap region’s education strategy, urging schools to shift greater attention towards foundational learning, teacher accountability and the maintenance of education infrastructure.
Steenkamp, during an engagement with stakeholders in education, including officials and principals at Mariental on Friday, said improving learner outcomes requires more than interventions at senior secondary level.
She says the education system has traditionally focused heavily on senior grades, while insufficient attention has been given to building strong foundations in the earlier stages of education.
“Our focus generally is on the senior secondary grades, which is wrong. We have to return to the basics. Foundations first, excellence always,” Steenkamp says.
She says the region’s turnaround strategy therefore requires realignment, adding that education officials already possess significant knowledge and experience that should be supported through proper application and resource allocation.
Steenkamp also calls for stronger professional leadership in schools, saying teachers should be supported while also being held accountable for their responsibilities.
She further raises concern about the condition of education infrastructure in southern Namibia, saying the perception that the south already had adequate infrastructure resulted in insufficient attention to maintenance, renovation and upgrading.
The minister urges principals to institutionalise routine maintenance instead of waiting for national authorities to address every problem.
Meanwhile, regional director of education Paulus Lewin says Hardap’s regional turnaround strategic plan, introduced more than five years ago, serves as a roadmap for improving education outcomes.
He says the region has approximately 65 schools across three circuits and faces unique challenges because of its vast geographical area.
Lewin says the region’s Advanced Subsidiary (AS) level qualification rate improved from 13.7% in 2024 to 25.7% in 2025, but acknowledges that more work is needed.
The region will also implement a holiday school programme for Grade 11 and AS-level learners, supported by N$500 000 from United Nations Children’s Fund.
The programme will target learners at selected sites at Mariental, Gibeon and Aranos ahead of the final examinations.
