Once regarded as a highly respected profession, teaching is losing its value.
At the heart of the problem is the growing number of teachers entering the field with poor grades, or through mature age entry, who don’t meet the minimum requirements for university admission.
In an opinion piece on the state of education, Salomo Ndeyamunye yaNdeshimona stated that some institutions accept students with as little as 16 points in five subjects and an E symbol in English.
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For many of these candidates, teaching is not a passion but a fallback profession, a doorway to securing quick employment.
When other doors close because of poor performance in grades 11 or 12, teaching becomes an easy option.
As a result, we are producing a generation of unqualified educators who lack the capabilities of becoming well-rounded teachers but who are expected to shape the future of a Namibian child.
Our future is under threat
This is a deeply disturbing trend and compromises the quality of education.
How can pupils be expected to achieve excellence when some teachers struggle to meet basic academic standards?
Education is supposed to be the backbone of national development, producing capable people to spearhead the social and economic development.
Pupils taught by underqualified educators are less likely to become top performing candidates especially in Stem subjects.
The poor performance, if not addressed, continues into higher grades, causing bottlenecks for tertiary education and later extends to employers.
On the other hand, is mature age entry opening doors for mediocre, as an alternative admission route for students mostly adults not meeting the minimum admission requirements in the old Grade 12 curriculum.
I believe instead of raising standards, it has created a backdoor into the teaching profession, further eroding the profession’s dignity.
If Namibia is serious about building a knowledge-based economy, it must confront this crisis head-on and consider raising entry requirements for teacher training as essential.
Incentives such as bursaries and scholarships should be used to attract high performing students into the profession.
Above all, society must reclaim the respect the teaching profession once had.
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URGENCY NEEDED
The teaching profession bill, tabled by education minister Sanet Steenkamp in September 2025, seeks to professionalise the teaching profession in Namibia and establish a teaching profession council.
The bill seeks to regulate the profession, register teachers, reinforce standards and ensure that pupils receive education from qualified and accountable educators.
It should also ensure that all educators are recognised, protected and supported while pupils are shielded from unqualified teachers or unethical teaching, practices.
Teachers are nation builders not a dumping site for poor performing candidates.
The quality of Namibia’s education will not rise above the quality of its teachers unless we apply high standards for the benefit of future generations.
- Cosmos Mbanga Mutwamezi is an educationist.
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