Contact

NANTU

Mungunda Street,

Erf 8506

P.O. Box 61009

Katutura, Namibia

Tel:+264 61 26 2247

+264 61 21 5434

Fax:+264 61 26 1926

E-mail:nantu@nantu.org.na

www.nantu.org.na

Historical background

NANTU’s early history is closely linked to

the political history of Namibia. Namibian

teachers were divided along ethnic lines into

several ethnic teachers’ associations that dealt

with their respective ethnic administrations.

NANTU was set to break ethnic and tribal

barriers in order to organise teachers into one

cohesive force which would safeguard their

interests and those of the nation.

During the second half of the 1980s, these

associations made numerous attempts to

unite and to form a national organisation for

teachers. NANTU was launched on 11 March

1989 and the first NANTU National Executive

Committee was elected, headed by Marco

Hausiku as President.

Vision

NANTU envisages a quality education system

to which all Namibians have equal access,

derive benefit from and which functions

in an educational policy and regulatory

environment in which the teachers can

develop their full potential and perform and

deliver to a maximum in the interest of the

personal and professional advancement and

growth of all Namibia.

Mission

NANTU is a national democratic, autonomous,

non-sexist, non-racial teachers’ union catering

for the professional, social and economic

needs of its members and influencing and

enhancing the education system.

Goal

To unite all teachers in Namibia in one

respected, representative and self-reliant

union which is able to broadly and effectively

represent its members’ interests and provides

them with reliable and appropriate services.

Namibia National Teachers’ UnionUniting all teachers in Namibia

•The map of theRepublic of Namibia indicatesthat NANTU is a NamibiaTeachers’ Union.

•A circle of individualsholding handsportrays the unity ofteachers and illustratesthe solidarity amongunion members.

•The book stresses the importance of theteaching–learning process as the centreof the Union’s operation, and the triangleseeks to explain the significance of theteacher, parent and student relationshipin a successful education process.

Deputy President,Mr Josef Dinyando

Secretary General,Mr Basilius G.M. Haingura

Deputy Secretary General,Mrs Loide Amushila

President,Mr Simeon Kavila

What is NANTU for?

• To protect members/

teachers at their work

• To improve the

conditions of their

work through

collective bargaining

• To seek to better

the conditions of

their lives

• To provide a means

of expression for their

workers’ views on

problems of society

Commonwealth Education Partnerships 2012/13 343

KEY FACTS

Joined Commonwealth: 1990

Population: 2,283,000 (2010)

GDP p.c. growth: 2.1% p.a. 1990–2010

UN HDI 2011: world ranking 120

Net primary enrolment: 85.4% (2009)

Net secondary enrolment: 50.7% (2007)

Gross tertiary enrolment: 9.0% (2008)

Adult literacy: 88.8% (2010)

Geography

Area: 824,269 sq km

Coastline: 1,570km

Capital: Windhoek

Namibia in south-west Africa is one of the driest and most sparsely

populated countries on Earth. It is bounded by the South Atlantic

Ocean on the west, Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and

South Africa to the south. The Caprivi Strip, a narrow extension of

land in the extreme north-east, connects it to Zambia. Namibia

comprises 13 regions (from south to north): Karas, Hardap,

Khomas, Erongo, Omaheke, Otjozondjupa, Kunene, Oshikoto,

Okavango, Omusati, Oshana, Caprivi and Ohangwena.

Society

Population per sq km: 3

Life expectancy: 62 years

Official language: English

Population: 2,283,000 (2010); density is extremely low overall and

38% lives in urban areas; growth 2.4% p.a. 1990–2010; birth rate

26 per 1,000 people (43 in 1970); life expectancy 62 years (53 in

1970 and 62 in 1990).

The Ovambo and Kavango together constitute about 60% of the

total population. Other groups are the Herero, Damara, Nama and

the Caprivians. The San (Bushmen), who are among the world’s

oldest surviving hunter-gatherers, have lived in this territory for

more than 11,000 years. The Basters, who settled in Rehoboth in

1870, stem from marriages between white farmers and Khoi

mothers in the Cape. The ‘Cape Coloureds’, immigrants from

South Africa, tend to live in the urban areas. Of the white group of

Namibia

Namibia Commonwealth World

Net Primary Enrolment (%)

2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 201075

80

85

90

95

approximately 90,000, about 50% are of South African and 25%

of German ancestry, about 20% are Boer ‘sudwesters’ (longer-

established migrants), with a small minority of UK ancestry.

Language: English, Oshiwambo, Herero, Nama, Afrikaans and

German. The official language is English, first or second language

to only about 20%. Oshiwambo is spoken throughout most of the

north. The Caprivians speak Lozi as their main language. Afrikaans

is widely spoken and is the traditional language of the Cape

Coloureds and Baster communities.

Religion: Christians 80–90% (predominantly Lutherans), the rest

holding traditional beliefs.

Health: Public spending on health was 4% of GDP in 2009. 92%

of the population uses an improved drinking water source and

33% have access to adequate sanitation facilities (2009).

Tuberculosis and malaria are widespread in the north. Infant

mortality was 29 per 1,000 live births in 2010 (129 in 1960). AIDS

is a serious problem. In 2009, 13.1% of people aged 15–49 were

HIV positive.

Media: Daily newspapers include The Namibian (in English and

Oshiwambo), Namibia Economist, New Era (government-owned),

Die Republikein (in Afrikaans) and Allgemeine Zeitung (in German).

Windhoek Observer is published weekly.

The Namibian Broadcasting Corporation provides public TV and

radio services; several private and international TV channels are

available via cable or satellite, and there are many private radio

stations broadcasting in the country.

Some 37% of households have TV sets (2007). There are 239 personal

computers (2007) and 65 internet users (2010) per 1,000 people.

Communications: Country code 264; internet domain ‘.na’.

Mobile phone coverage is good in the towns but patchy in rural

areas. Internet connection is available in main towns; there are

internet cafes in Walvis Bay, Swakopmund and Windhoek; and a

good postal service.

There are 67 main telephone lines and 672 mobile phone

subscriptions per 1,000 people (2010).

EducationGovernance

Ministry of EducationWindhoek

Web: www.moe.gov.na

Tel: +264 61 293 3358

Email: info@moe.gov.na

Minister: Dr Abraham Iyambo

Namibia Qualifications AuthorityWindhoek

Web: www.namqa.org

Tel: +264 61 384100

Policy and plans

Public spending on education was 8.1% of GDP in 2010.

The national Vision 2030 aspires to improve the quality of life of

the people of Namibia to the level of their counterparts in the

A beacon of excellence in teaching,research and extension services

Established in 1992, theUniversity of Namibia (UNAM) with nearly 17,000 registeredstudents is the largest and onlypublic university in Namibia.

UNAM’s vision is to becomea beacon of excellence in teaching, research and extension services.

UNAM’s mission is to provide quality higher education through teaching, research and advisory services tocustomers with the view to produce productive andcompetitive human resources capable of drivingpublic and private institutions towards a knowledge-based economy, economic growth and improvedquality of life.

With a stable democracy, a diverse society anda dynamic economy in Namibia, UNAM attractsinternational students from a total of 18 countries inAfrica, Europe, Asia and the Americas and offers morethan 50 bachelor degrees, 25 Masters and 12 PhDdegree programmes.

UNAM has eight facultiesnamely: Agriculture and Natural Resources; Economics and Management Sciences; Education; Engineering and IT; Humanities and SocialSciences; Law, Health Sciences

(comprising School of Nursing and Public Health andSchool of Medicine); and the Faculty of Science.

UNAM supports scientific research and industrial linkages for students through its dedicated researchcentres. World-class research laboratories and quality research on Malaria has produced seven WIPO-registered patents on anti-malarial compounds.

Visit us at www.unam.naor call +264 61 206 3111

developed world by 2030. This aspiration is seen to require a totally

integrated, unified, flexible and high-quality education and training

system, and achievement of this is aim of the national long-term

plan for education and training. The plan envisages large increases

in the number of fully qualified teachers and a substantial

expansion of programmes of professional training and

development for teachers. Under the plan this greater investment

in teacher education is to be supported by curriculum development

and an increase in provision of teaching materials and ICT.

Schools

Gross enrolment overall: 69.4% (2006)

Primary female–male ratio: 0.99:1 (2009)

Secondary female–male ratio: 1.18:1 (2007)

Primary pupil–teacher ratio: 30:1 (2009)

Secondary pupil–teacher ratio: 25:1 (2007)

There are 10 years of compulsory education starting at age six.

Primary school comprises seven years and secondary five. In 1993

English replaced Afrikaans as the main language of instruction. The

Namibian Constitution provides free education until the age of 16

or completion of primary education. Some 83% of pupils complete

primary school (2008). The school year starts in January.

N a m i b i a

2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010

Primary Secondary Tertiary

Number of Females Enrolled for Every Male

0.6

0.9

1.2

1.5

Namibia

45 x 35Sub-Saharan Africa

Commonwealth Africa

Developing Countries

Developed Countries

World

Adult Literacy (%)

30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Windhoek International School (WIS) was founded in 1990 with the purpose of serving the needs of children from an international-minded community.

WIS provides an international curriculum and we model our philosophy and

mission on that of the International Baccalaureate (IB).

We have forged links with other international schools and WIS is accredited with the IB, the CIS (Council of International Schools), NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges) and is a member of the Association of International Schools in Africa.

The toddlers group provides a pre-school programme in preparation for entry into kindergarten and pre-primary classes.

Windhoek International School Educational excellence

Principal: Mr Anthony MillwardSchool type: Co-educational Day

Pupils enrolled as at April 2012: 425Boys: 214 Girls: 211

www.wis.edu.na

The pre-school programme focuses on the personal, social and emotional development of learners

WIS provides an international curriculum delivering the highest quality education and catering for students from 24 months to 18 years

Following our well-structured middle school curriculum, we offer the IGCSE Examinations as a Cambridge accredited centre which provides all learners with a widely accepted

the IB’s Diploma Programme (DP) which is recognised as an

Tertiary

The principal tertiary institution is the University of Namibia,

established in 1993, with its main campus in Windhoek and nine

other campuses across the country. The university offers courses in

agriculture and natural resources; economics and management

sciences; education; engineering and information technology; and

law. There is also a polytechnic; technical and agricultural colleges;

and four national teacher-training colleges. Namibian College of

Open Learning provides open and distance learning. The

female–male ratio for gross enrolment in tertiary education is

1.32:1 (2008). Literacy among people aged 15–24 is 93% (2010).

There are extensive adult literacy programmes.

Further information

Government of Namibia Gateway: www.grnnet.gov.na

Commonwealth Secretariat: www.thecommonwealth.org

Commonwealth Education Online: www.cedol.org

Commonwealth Education Partnerships 2012/13

C o m m o n w e a l t h M e m b e r C o u n t r i e s

346

Ministry of Education: www.moe.gov.na

National Institute for Educational Development:

www.nied.edu.na

University of Namibia: www.unam.na

Namibian College of Open Learning:

www.namcol.com.na

Education institutions