By Enny Iita
President Hage Geingob Says That the Country Is Experiencing a High Unemployment Rate Because Of Namibian School Curriculum.
PRESIDENT Hage Geingob blames the Namibian school curriculum for a high unemployment rate. Geingob said this during a meeting with United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) director for eastern and southern regions, Mohamed Moustapha Malich Fall, at State House on Wednesday.
“Education has changed. It is no longer the education I used to teach. Curriculums sometimes don’t prepare people for the job market. That’s a problem, so people with degrees don’t have jobs because they are not prepared for the job market,” said Geingob.
As stated by the UNFPA country representative, Namibia, has one of the youngest populations in Africa, yet it was anticipated to reach a staggering 50.30 percent youth unemployment rate by the end of 2021.
The Teachers Union of Namibia (TUN) ‘s secretary-general Kavihuha Mahongora says that the Namibian education system is in the intensive care unit, adding that he was shocked by President Geingob’s comments regarding the state of the school curriculum.
“It came as a shock to us as the labor movement to hear from a president that our school curriculum needs to be reformed so that it can be responsive to the job market. Which he as the government has been denying,” said Mahongora.
He blamed the government for revising the curriculum that he claims has failed and still taking the education system backward. The secretary-general accused Geingob of being aware of how much of a failure the education system in the country is, adding that Geingob knows “very well” that the education system needs some settings.
“But he still appoints the wrong people in the right position and also does not ensure that the right people are appointed to the right positions to transform the education system,” he expressed. Kavihuha added that Geingob’s statement was contrary to his actions and that his way of handling this isn’t like that of a person who knows the difficulties faced within the education system.