Namibian universities and schools need to intensify their efforts to develop digital skills and integrate digital education in basic and higher education curriculums.
This is according University of Namibia’s Pro Vice-Chancellor Anicia Peters who is also the chairperson of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR Task Force).
Yesterday, at the presentation of a final report about Namibia’s readiness for new developments to President and Cabinet Ministers, she stated that the overwhelming majority (over 900) of those who responded to a survey that was used in compiling the report believe Namibians are not sufficiently supported in terms of reskilling their workforce and finding work for the fourth Industrial Revolution.
“In order for the 4IR to develop the education sector and build human capacity, an education reform has to be established to close the digital-skills gap and improve education – from basic, vocational, and higher education to lifelong learning.
“When we are talking about education, the private sector is one of the primary sectors that needs to be in the room. The investment of education is good, but we need to look into the systems that need to improve,” Peters said.
According to the task force’s economic and development readiness assessment, she said that overall the framework has achieved good results, but there is still much to be done.
Yesterday’s presentation by the task force to the president and Cabinet was its final presentation on its final findings, and recommendations.
Peter stated that for the task force’s to have produced this report, they had needed to consider many factors.
“We have engaged over 660 individuals, and we looked at input from social media, print media, and television media.
“In the report we looked at what the implications are per sector if we have to implement the given recommendations for the ordinary person on the street,” she said.
The summary report revealed that Namibia, which has 319 Namibian businesses, has the necessary capabilities to continue producing.
“It is the first time Namibia was scored on the world production scale. This indicates we are performing above average,” Peters said.
She stated that the education sector needs to improve its skills.
“The industry indicated their workforce has ‘inadequate’ levels of skills. The alignment of curricula to current and future skills requirements needs urgent attention,” she said.
“Our options of free online courses are still not visible in Namibia,” Peters said.
“The quality of science, maths and digital skills education practices are perceived to be ‘below average’ for the fourth Industrial Revolution. The quality of maths and science education in Namibia is perceived to be above that of South Africa and Tanzania,” she said.
Anna Nghipondoka, Minister of Education, Arts and Culture, agreed that there are many gaps in the industry that need to be filled.
“One of the areas I believe we need to address is the skills gap, and I can see the given recommendations speak to what was recently addressed at the education conference,” she said.
“Inputs in the basic education sector contribute more than 80% to the salary. Therefore the study done by the 4IR task force should address the infrastructure sector’s role in the education system,” Nghipondoka said.
Calle Schlettwein, Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform, questioned the task team about the effectiveness of the implementation of the various recommendations and how it would be addressed.
“The aspect we are not addressing is the social consequences of the revolution. It will have a profound influence on our lives. Is our government fit to impose this revolution?” he asked.
“We are talking about these immense benefits, but do we really have an idea how to translate the job of a farm labourer into an information technology worker?
“The structure of this implementation must be relooked at,” Schlettwein said.
President Hage Geingob suggested ministers set up individual meetings with the taskforce to discuss the various suggestions.
“We will be left behind if we just sit with our hands folded,” he said.
Source: namibian
