Windhoek: Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts, and Culture, Sanet Steenkamp, has issued a caution to parents regarding the reliance on untrained nannies for the early education of their children. The minister revealed a concerning statistic that only 17 percent of early childhood development (ECD) educators in Namibia hold formal qualifications.

According to Namibia Press Agency, Steenkamp emphasized the importance of qualified early childhood education at the relaunch of the RightStart Programme. The initiative aims to promote nurturing care and integrated early childhood development (IECD). She pointed out that many parents fail to engage directly with their children's education at home, often substituting educational materials with cellphones or leaving them with nannies more engrossed in watching TV shows than attending to the child's learning needs.

Steenkamp also highlighted the critical role of communities as the first teachers in a child's life. She referenced a national ECD Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices study that revealed a mere 2 percent of Namibian parents recognize that learning begins at birth. This gap in awareness affects the early developmental interactions such as reading, speaking, and playing, which are crucial for a child's brain development prior to formal education.

The minister outlined the challenges facing ECD, noting that in 2023, out of 414,069 children aged 0-4, only 51,872 accessed ECD services, leaving over 87 percent without integrated ECD programme access. Furthermore, 60 percent of pre-primary-aged children are not enrolled in preschool, with a significant shortage of formally qualified educators.

Steenkamp stressed that these challenges pose significant barriers to lifelong learning and contribute to learning poverty. She reaffirmed that the RightStart Programme is tackling these issues by providing parents with accurate information on the importance of early play for brain development, the quality indicators of an ECD centre, and the significance of speaking to a child in their mother tongue.