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UNESCO, as Chair of the Education sub-pillar, participated alongside the UN Resident Coordinator and other members of the Namibia UN Country Team in a series of media interviews on the country’s performance, on Friday 16 August 2024. The goal of the interviews was to unpack the UN’s Sustainable Development Report 2024 as it relates to Namibia. 

Overall, the country is on track with respect to SDG 4 on Quality Education and Lifelong Learning and SDG 5 on Gender Equality.  Moderate improvements have been registered with respect to SDG 3 on Good Health and Wellbeing, SDG 6 on Clean Water and Sanitation, SDG 9 on Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG 12 on Consumption and Production, SDG 13 on Climate Action, SDG 15 on Life on Land, and SDG 17 on Partnerships for the Goals.   Movement on the other SDGs (1, 2, 7, 8, 11 and 14) have been stagnant, except on SDG 10 on Reduced Inequalities for which there is no data, and SDG 16 on Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions, which is in decline.

During the interview the UNESCO Windhoek Head of Office, Ms Eunice Smith, noted SDG 4 indicators showed that Namibia has achieved 99.4% of net primary enrollment (2018), 96.5% completion rate at lower secondary school level, 95.6% literacy rate among 15 to 24-year-olds (2021), and 77.3% pre-primary enrollment in 2022.  Apart from these indicators, there are other factors which point to Namibia advancing towards achievement of SDG 4 by 2030.  The gross enrollment rate in higher education institutions is at 19%, which is higher than the average for sub-Saharan Africa. The Government of the Republic of Namibia invested 23.1% of its ministerial budget, 2023-2024, in education arts and culture, and there is a costed implementation plan available, approved by parliament in 2023 following the National Education Conference and the Transforming Education Summit, 2022, to guide the education sector steps towards 2030.

Despite these successes, there are numerous challenges in the education sector including high rates of failure among learners and repetition of class grades; high levels of school dropouts and underachievement especially among boys; high levels of social ills such as teenage pregnancies, gender-based and other forms of violence including bullying, and substance and alcohol abuse; low net enrollment in early childhood development programs; need for teachers continuing professional development; increased access to digital technology and literacy in education hampered by low numbers of schools with internet connectivity, some schools with no electricity, a curriculum that requires further development to effectively incorporate ICTs, and low levels of competence to deliver teaching and learning through digital means; mismatch of technical skills as compared to the demands of the economy (in areas of ICT, renewable energy, and green hydrogen).

Overall, the UN system is working with the Namibian government to address many of these challenges through the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), 2025-2029.  The UNSDCF will focus on addressing the needs of youth, which represents 70.1% of Namibia’s population, and marginalized communities by strengthening their participation in transparent gender-inclusive governance systems and institutions, in an economy that champions sustainable decent jobs, livelihoods and reduces inequalities, that promotes the sustainable management of natural resources while reducing climate change vulnerability and enhancing resilience, and provides equal access to quality, affordable, gender-inclusive and human-rights based social services.

In the area of Education, UNESCO will support institutional capacity building, benchmarking, policy formulation, norms and standards implementation, and partnership building. To address the challenges of Namibia, key initiatives will include programs to strengthen the Education Management Information Systems (OpenEMIS) for enhanced evidence-based decision-making; science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education particularly for girls, as well as curriculum reform of TVET, aimed at better aligning education with labor market demands and to increase gender equity in skills-sets available for economic growth; digital teaching and learning through ICT in Education and Media and Information Literacy (MIL); Education for Sustainable Development; and Education for Health and Wellbeing, as well as to address Gender-based violence, toxic masculinities and boys’ underachievement.