The Programme Basic Education Namibia

Within the framework of the programme component AfriLa the National Institute for Educational Development - NIED in Okahandja is supported to implement the comprehensive curriculum revision for grades 1-10 (Lower primary Phase, Upper primary Phase and Junior Secondary Phase). The curriculum revision focuses on basic competencies which all learners should have achieved at the end of each phase of formal basic education. This is in line with rationalising the curriculum towards essential subjects that are compulsory. Learning content is concentrating on relevance for its application in a knowledge based economy as envisaged by Namibia's VISION 2030.

The AfriLa programme component provided continuous support in the process of revising the curriculum for the Lower primary phase. This included pedagogical and didactical advice with regard to the subject syllabi, the orientation towards learner-centred education for grades 1 to 3 where learning is taking place mainly in the mother tongue as well as supporting the introduction of the new Lower Primary Curriculum during the school years 2005 and 2006 through nation-wide teacher in-service training.

The main objective of the curriculum revision for the Lower Primary phase is to enable a successful and irreversible acquisition of literacy and numeracy in the mother tongue of learners. Through this the programme component is contributing to quality-oriented and culturally adequate teaching for beginners which are the foundations for successful learning later on.

Within the framework of the Education and Training Sector Improvement programme (ETSIP) and with support through the programme component AfriLa the curriculum for the Upper Primary phase (grades 5-7) and the Junior Secondary phase (grades 8-10) will also be revised and oriented towards essential basic competencies that are adapted to the changing requirements of society.

The support for the curriculum reform will be completed through the drafting of a new Curriculum Guideline for Formal Education in Namibia replacing the old Broad Curriculum Framework.