ICT Policy for Education in Namibia

My schooling days were marked with a huge amount of "general knowledge" training. Encouraged by my father to read the newspapers and watch the news increased one's general knowledge capacity and also (more importantly) ones vision for the future.

This vision is molded and sculpted over the years to fit one's interests, excitement and of course future profession. Exposure in school to a variety of tools and disciplines (academic, cultural and sport) strengthened ones belief in this vision and gave one a sense that the vision is achievable.

What stood out in my schooling days was the exposure to a computer at school. Even at that time (in the mid-80s), understanding and using the computer was considered a vital ingredient to prepare the pupils for the future. Twenty years later, very few schools (apart from the "previously advantage" and private schools) can boast with a fully functional computer lab with an associated and well educated "computer" teacher. I was fortunate in this sense that I was exposed to computers and good teachers at the time, but unfortunately this has not expanded in our Namibian schools over the years.

It is clear that leadership is needed, but what kind of leadership. It is clear that politicians make the right noises about the future of Namibian schoolers and ICT, but question them deeper and it becomes apparent that these ARE but noises.

My view is that we have a rather old generation that is driving the educational future of our Namibian children. Ask around who has used Fedora, SuSE, Ubuntu or Debian in government's policy makers. How many have been exposed to Linux, Solaris, Apple MAC or any other operating system (OS) apart from Microsoft or to be more specific, "Word", "Excel", "Powerpoint" or "Outlook". Who has worked with gnuplot or the gnu compilers. It is important, because other programs on other OS's provide specific solutions to ones problems. Clearly, if you only write ".doc" files and send and receive e-mails, exposure to other OSs are limited or non-existent. Also, "I'm to old for that; We'll leave it to you younger guys" is a comment that is not well received to a generation who needs this guidance and vision NOW. Ten, fifteen years from now we sit with an under-educated generation who will require the money needed to train the upcoming generation for their "training and skills development".

Government has to be proactive here. But what stands them to do. Well for starters add one or two computers for every computer that the school buys. Encourage school boards to add extra incentives to those teachers who are willing and able to undergo the necessary ICT training and provide this service to their respective schools. Have government funded competitions between schools to create innovative software solutions that are usable at a school or governmental level. Sign agreements with Open-Source software providers to provide the necessary start-up software to be used in schools. Finally, mandate Telecom Namibia to provide free wireless networking infrastructure and internet access to schools.

The idea here is NOT to make a quick buck with a huge "government tender", but to prepare a young nation for a very competitive future. If you want quality education, you will pay severely for that education. Clearly, "free education" will become "privileged education", whereby the seriousness of governments heavy investment in the future of Namibia's youth is felt in the populace. Parents will return to disciplining their children at home to take their education seriously and make the most of it. Parents will again encourage their children to dream and generate visions for their own futures. Finally, pupils will become students and students will become educated and well skilled professionals.