Namibia’s Unemployed Teachers Demand For Urgent Action

• Frieda Jona

Thousands of unemployment teachers fuelled protests amid shortages of teachers nationwide in government schools, highlighting serious questions about recruitment policies and planning.

Government recruitment flaws were highlighted during a peaceful  demonstration held in Rundu and Windhoek, with hundreds unemployed teachers demanding immediate action from the government. The protest which marched from the Katutura Youth Centre to the Ministry of Education at Government Park, submitted a petition calling for mass recruitment. 

The chairperson of the unemployed teachers in the Kavango regions David Nekaro, criticized the education directorate, claiming the education policy has “failed the country in various aspects.” He pointed out that many graduates are left in limbo and unable to make a contribution to the education sector despite their qualifications.

According to the Namibia National Teachers Union (NANTU), over 15 000 qualified teachers in Namibia have struggled to find employment for the past two years. This figure is likely to grow, with about more than thousands new graduates entering the job market each year. 

In the Kavango regions alone, more than 3,410 unemployed teachers have expressed their concerns, urgently calling for action from the Ministry of  Education. Many attribute the issue to poor workforce planning and a shortage of teaching positions in government schools. 

In light of this growing crisis, NANTU thus started to compile a database of unemployed teachers. An initiative aims to track their qualifications and figure out the available positions.

The secretary general of NANTU Loide Shaanika stated that this database will help pinpoint the challenges graduates are facing and prepare them better for interviews. However, many teachers believe that the recruitment process itself needs urgent reform. They requested proper working force and transparent hiring process while the government enhancing its education system.

Unemployed teachers believed that the recruitment process is seriously flawed. They highlighted issues like unfair hiring practices, nepotism, and sudden shifts in the criteria for selection. 

In their petition, protesters called out for the abolition of interviews, claiming they often result in unfair placements and corruptions. The also proposed the government to invest in projects to build more schools, as this could help create more job opportunities. Moreover, unemployed teachers urged the government to honour its pledge of N$200 million for new teaching positions, a promise made during the State of the Nation Address back in March 2023. 

During their grieving, some graduates have claimed they were offered positions, only to have those offers pulled back because of administrative mix-ups regarding their qualifications.

Johanna Simon, an unemployed graduate from the Erongo Region recounted her experience of being selected for a teaching role, only to be informed later that she was no longer deemed qualified due to a misunderstanding of her documents. “This is very worrying,” she expressed, pointing out the regulatory  obstacles that are keeping teachers from landing jobs.