Unemployed Teachers Plan Nationwide Protest for Recruitment Demands

Namibia – Unemployed teachers in Namibia are organizing a nationwide protest to demand the recruitment of unemployed graduate teachers. The protest, scheduled for 28 November, also includes plans to shut down all Directorate of Education offices in various regions until their demands are met.

According to Namibian Press Agency (NAMPA), the National African Students’ Association secretary-general in the Kavango West Region, the decision to protest was made last year by former student leaders who remain unemployed. Despite numerous engagements with different education offices and even with the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture directors in various regions, Kandunda stated that their efforts have not yielded satisfactory responses.

In the Kavango East Region, the protest will commence with a march from the Rundu Sports Stadium to the Kavango East Education Directorate office, where a petition will be submitted. Similarly, in the Kavango West Region, the protest will start from the International University of Management in Nkurenkuru and proceed to the regional education office. Kandunda emphasized that after submitting their petition, they plan to ask the director to vacate the office so they can close it.

Earlier in September, unemployed teachers held a press conference in Rundu, claiming that 80 percent of understaffed schools in the country are in the Kavango regions, with class sizes ranging from 70 to 90 learners. They also stated that 3,410 teachers are unemployed in these regions, a claim that has been contested by the education ministry.