Windhoek: Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture, Sanet Steenkamp, on Thursday, highlighted the need to combat 'learning poverty' amongst lower primary learners across the country. The minister stressed that seven out of 10 children in Namibia at 10 years of age cannot read a comprehensive English text or do basic mathematics, which she described as 'learning poverty.'

According to Namibia Press Agency, Steenkamp made the remarks during an information sharing session at the Government Information Centre (GIC) here on Thursday, saying that empowering basic education will improve the quality of education at an advanced stage. "We know that across the 14 regions, the situation does not look good with the grade three learners in terms of reading and basic numeracy. Let's bring the foundation to a much stronger level and then build on that foundation towards excellence," she said.

She further added that the ministry, in response to the challenge, has introduced continuous professional development of teachers from pre-grade to grade three, as well as specific courses, early grade reading, early grade mathematic measures, developed in both the mother tongue and English. The minister urged parents to ensure that children are exposed to reading and appropriate reading materials at home to address the end of learning poverty.

She further stressed that principals play a key role in childhood development and must exercise their authority wisely while actively engaging parents and the wider community. "The role of our principals is essential. They must lead with effective authority while ensuring accessibility for learners, parents, and the community, even with demanding schedules that include teaching, their focus must be on enforcing discipline and nurturing a caring, communicative, and inclusive school culture in partnership with all," she said.