Co-operation with Education Institutions

WIMSA has continued working closely with Namibia’s Intersectoral Task Force on Educationally Marginalised Children (ITFEMC). In 2002/03 an important matter attended to was that of publishing the reports titled “Report on Educationally Marginalised Children, Ondangwa East and West”, “Report on the Nyae Nyae Village Schools Project” and “Educationally Marginalised Children in Namibia: An Inventory of Programmes, Interventions and Data”. In the Inspector of Education’s verbal report to the ITFEMC on the visit of five Tsumkwe school principals to schools in Botswana in which San learners predominate, information about the substantial material support provided to San learners by Botswana’s government came as an eye-opener.

Two significant proposals were discussed in the last ITFEMC meeting:

• “Proposed Affirmative Action Working Group: Working in partnership to develop a successful programme for further study/training for marginalised youth”; and
• “Project: Affirmative Action for San Education in Tsumkwe District – An initiative by NAMAS [Namibia Association of Norway] and MBESC [Ministry of Basic Education, Sport and Culture]”.

Regarding the first proposal, Yvonne Pickering explained to the ITFEMC that the Affirmative Action Working Group’s aim is to ensure that a greater number of ‘affirmative action students’ access and successfully complete tertiary studies, and that a more co-ordinated approach is taken by all role-players to make that possible. The ITFEMC supported the proposal and suggested that the Affirmative Action Working Group be composed of representatives of the MBESC; the Ministry of Higher Education, Training and Employment Creation; the University of Namibia; the Polytechnic of Namibia; and the Windhoek College of Education (WCE). The group’s first meeting is scheduled for July 2003.

The second proposal entails the establishment of ‘multi-purpose learning centres’ in Tsumkwe District. The proposal flows from former Norwegian Abassador to Namibia Bernt Lund’s desk study titled “Mainstreaming through Affirmative Action: ‘Nothing is more unequal than the equal solutions to different problems’”. Mr Lund consulted WIMSA and other stakeholders for input on ways to support education in Tsumkwe District with special emphasis on San learners and teachers. It was resolved that two resource centres, one in Mangetti Dune in the western part of the district and one in Tsumkwe town in the eastern part should provide support to educators, learners and community members. A mobile centre to ensure outreach to outlying areas in the district is also being considered. These centres should meet a wide range of needs at the levels of learner, educator and community. Essentially they should:

• n Provide in-service training for all school teachers and principals;
• support San student teachers;
• guide in-service teachers in producing teaching and learning aids;
• sensitise non-San teaching and hostel staff to San culture;
• serve as centres of the Namibian College of Open Learning (NAMCOL);
• support cross-cultural learning activities in the district;
• provide guidance regarding tertiary education;
• provide training for school boards and education mobilisers;
• promote literacy; and
• support San paralegal workers.

A consultative conference on the envisaged centres involving all stakeholders will be convened in April 2003.

WIMSA, NIED and the Upgrading African Languages Project (afriLa) have maintained an effective working relationship. These organisations exchange information on a wide range of topics such as the plans of the Ju|’hoansi Curriculum Committee and education materials planned for and produced.

The arrival of the Regional Education Advisor has made it possible for a closer working relationship to develop between WIMSA and the WCE. Another important aspect of her work has been to build on the personal support given to San students in the past. It is hoped that the structured programme of personal and study support will minimise the tendency of San tertiary students to drop out before completing their studies. The WCE is a key partner in providing a series of Writers’ Workshops for San students in June/July 2003.

In Botswana a formal link was established between WIMSA, the Botswana San organisations and the San/Basarwa Research Programme of the University of Botswana (UB). With funding negotiated by WIMSA, the position of Botswana Education Liaison Officer (ELO) for education issues affecting San/Basarwa and other minority groups in Botswana was filled. Leslie Botsie, the first ELO, was appointed in August 2002, and Kgosi Motshabi will replace him in April 2003. Yvonne Pickering is planning to meet with these colleagues and other stakeholders in San/Basarwa education in Botswana in May 2003.

Tertiary and Further Education

One highlight of this reporting period was the graduation of the first Ju|’hoan-speaking San student from the WCE. Since January 2003 Cwisa Cwi has been teaching Grade 2 learners at Tsumkwe Junior Secondary School. He is not only teaching a class of 45 learners (29 San), but also supervising learners at the school hostel, serving as the teachers’ representative on the school board, and acting as a role model to help the school principal motivate learners in Grades 9 and 10 to go on to complete their secondary schooling.
In the 2003 academic year a total of seven San are enrolled in the WCE – four in first year, one in second year and two in third year. Only one first-year student (a woman) dropped out in 2002 – shortly before the end-of-year examination. The students’ end-of-year reports to WIMSA made evident the fact that she was not the only San student who struggled.

Windhoek College of Education Rector
Mike Mbudje (left) congratulating Ju|’hoan
student Cwisa Cwi on the occasion of his
graduation from the college on 28 March 2003.

“I really did not think I was going to get to the end of this year, but I have. I am feeling so good. I am really looking forward to next year, now I know I can do it.”

– WCE second-year San student Victor BOrro in his end-of-year report to WIMSA.

“I am just feeling proud that what I was dreaming about is now becoming the truth.”

– WCE third-year San student Lodewyk Lukas in his end-of-year report to WIMSA.

Table 3: Namibian San Students Affiliated to WIMSA in 2003

Following intensive consultation with WIMSA Regional Education Advisor Yvonne Pickering, one student changed his major subject from Education to Political Science in the belief that this will better serve his community’s development interests. Yvonne is also helping Joram |Useb to investigate what appears to be a case of erroneous marking in one of his five subjects in the NAMCOL Education for Development course. The news of the possible error came as a surprise as he was initially informed that he had done well in all five subjects of this two-year part-time distance learning course.

Because Yvonne is willing to closely monitor the students’ progress, it was agreed that WIMSA should again start assisting young San wanting to complete their formal schooling through NAMCOL. Nine San youth (three Hai||om women, three Hai||om men, two Ju|’hoan men and one Khwe man) are currently enrolled in NAMCOL, seven in Grade 12 courses and two in Grade 10 courses. Distance learning is a challenge for all of them.
All young San who apply for WIMSA support to enhance their education are required to supply their curriculum vitae, attend an interview with the Regional Education Advisor, assess their study opportunities with Yvonne’s assistance, apply for a place in the relevant education institution, and submit biannual reports to WIMSA on their experience. Yvonne has continued the ‘open-door’ Friday afternoon tradition at the WIMSA office, and she encourages the students continuously to tackle their problems assertively and do their best to achieve their academic goals.

Links to Secondary Schools with San Learners

One aim of the WIMSA Regional Education Programme is to establish links with key secondary schools accommodating San learners in Grade 8 and above. The first links were established with principals and San learners at secondary schools in Tsumeb, Grootfontein, Otavi and Rundu in Namibia. Joram |Useb accompanied Yvonne Pickering on her visit to these schools to act as a San role model in discussions with the learners aimed at motivating them to complete their schooling and making them aware of their opportunities.

A divergence of interests according to gender came to light in these discussions: in general the boys were far more interested in WIMSA activities than in tertiary education, whereas the girls were primarily interested in the latter. The four Grade 11 learners attending Maria Mwemgere Secondary School in Rundu, who WIMSA supports financially, were determined to complete Grade 12 so that they could engage in forestry, natural resource management, agriculture and engineering studies. Most learners cited transport costs and hunger as matters of concern to them, and one said the lack of teachers in key subjects such as mathematics and physical science is problematic. The learners seemed to gain confidence from the knowledge that a San organisation is available to advise them as necessary.

The school principals were found to be aware of the Intersectoral Task Force on Educationally Marginalised Children (ITFEMC), and since the introduction of the school cluster system nationwide, some have worked closely together to support those learners from marginalised groups who require additional support. All of them welcomed WIMSA’s initiative to build links with their school, and were pleased to learn of the existence of the Southern African San Education Forum (SASEF).
Throughout 2003 visits will be made to secondary schools in the Outjo and Tsumkwe Districts as well as the Omaheke Region.

San in Primary School in the Omaheke Region

At the request of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Namibia, the Omaheke San Trust (OST) prepared a new proposal for the Omaheke San Education Programme which was put on hold in July 2002 when UNICEF withdrew its funding support due to past financial irregularities in the OST. Following a number of organisational and staff changes in the organisation, UNICEF indicated its willingness to restart the programme.

In consultation with WIMSA, the OST has decided to incorporate the aims and objectives of the original programme (e.g. to increase the number of San learners attending school in the Omaheke by at least 20% by 2005, identify the specific reasons for learner dropout in each school setting, identify educational obstacles facing San girls, enhance family involvement in the children’s education and sensitise school staff to the San culture), but also to adopt a more holistic approach in the programme by integrating it under each of the overall OST development themes, these including education and training, HIV/AIDS, sustainable livelihood, rights and entitlements, and heritage and culture.

Early Childhood Development (ECD)

Certain elements of the Omaheke San Education Programme, such as the pre-school projects, will be facilitated in close co-operation with WIMSA. In January 2003 the WIMSA Regional Education Advisor, Yvonne Pickering, visited a number of primary schools, pre-schools and play groups in the Omaheke Region. The discussions focused mainly on the possibility of using the children’s mother tongue as the medium of instruction and the lack of basic play equipment in some pre-schools. Yvonne was most impressed by the creative approach of the two men running the Freedom Square Play Group in the Epako squatter area, and has thus recommended incorporating Rudolph Totwe and Engelbertus Bly’s ECD-related concepts into future training programmes for pre-school projects.

In February 2003 Yvonne visited the pre-schools in Omatako, Mangetti Dune and Tsumkwe in Tsumkwe District in Namibia’s Otjozondjupa Region. The Omatako Pre-school, an initiative of several San community members, had already made contact with WIMSA in 2002. This follow-up consultation resulted in WIMSA continuing financial support to the pre-school teachers, facilitating an application to the Ministry of Women Affairs and Child Welfare for permanent school structures, and facilitating contact with Elna Oosthuizen, an experienced teacher who provides basic training to the community members teaching at the school.

Each of the three pre-schools visited is attended by 20-25 children and run by two San teachers. The Bosshart Pre-school in Mangetti Dune was set up by Elna Oosthuizen with a considerable amount of donor funding, which provided for excellence in the standard of the buildings and provisions for the children.

Non-San teachers who ran the Tsumkwe Pre-school in 2001 were replaced by two San community members after the latter had undergone basic pre-school training with Elna. One of these new teachers is fluent in Ju|’hoansi (the San language of the area), which helps ensure that the children are able to develop their skills more effectively through the medium of their mother tongue.

Yvonne and Elna’s discussion centred on a possible partnership with WIMSA to support the development of a pre-school programme involving the Omatako and Tsumkwe Pre-schools. They agreed that Elna should continue providing training and materials and WIMSA should provide financial support, and that they should work together on proposals for structures for new pre-schools to help ensure that the expansion of the programme is manageable over the next two years.

Children of the Freedom Square Play Group at play in the Epako squatter area in the Omaheke Region, Namibia.

Since the !Khwa ttu San Culture and Education Centre near Cape Town is a WIMSA project, its ECD Programme is run in consultation with WIMSA. The pre-school there presently caters for the 12 children (3 girls, 9 boys) of the centre staff and San being trained there, but it also presently accommodates four of the San trainees’ children of over seven years of age who have either not yet started their primary schooling or are adamant about remaining with their parents at !Khwa ttu.

Former !Khwa ttu trainee Elisabeth Trommeltjie Thys of the ‡Khomani community in the Northern Cape showed admirable ability in working with children and was thus given the opportunity to attend a six-month Educare course at the Bergsicht Training Centre in Stellenbosch. She and Elfrieda Sianda of the Schmidtsdrift Khwe community now run the pre-school at !Khwa ttu as teacher and assistant teacher respectively. Daily they jointly draw up an agenda of activities including singing, story-telling, English and hand co-ordination. The pre-school consists of two furnished classrooms with play materials, and a play park and hiking trail.

Elisabeth Trommeltjie Thys attending to a child at the !Khwa ttu San Culture and Education Centre pre-school.