STAFF WRITER
The government’s school feeding programme reached 500 371 learners in 2025, while 30 223 students received financial assistance, according to the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture new strategic plan.
The plan was launched on Monday by Deputy Minister Dino Ballotti. It reviews progress in education, vocational training and youth development, while identifying funding shortages and staff gaps as key challenges facing the ministry.
Ballotti said the plan aims to improve access to quality education, strengthen teaching and learning, empower young people and align education with the country’s development needs.
The plan is built around eight pillars, including education access, infrastructure development, research and innovation, sports, arts and culture, good governance and stakeholder engagement.
“This Plan did not come from one office. It was developed through wide consultation, and it builds on a five-year review of previous Strategic Plans and includes a participatory situation analysis,” Ballotti said.
He said the ministry had been implementing the plan since the start of the 2025/26 financial year.
One of its key achievements is the Namibia School Feeding Programme, which reached 500,371 learners, exceeding its target of 497,749.
Ballotti said school feeding was essential to ensuring that children could learn without hunger.
“No child should have to learn on an empty stomach,” he said.
He recalled visiting his former school, West Side High School in Swakopmund, where an area had been renovated to provide a dignified space for learners to receive their lunch.
“I was most pleased to first-hand see and experience the programme in Swakopmund recently when I went to visit my alma mater, West Side High. They had renovated an area to provide dignity where learners benefit from the lunchtime feeding,” he said.
The plan also highlights progress in student funding. In 2025, the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) received 41,322 applications and awarded financial assistance to 30,223 students, about 34% more than its original target of 22,500 beneficiaries.
Under the subsidised tertiary education funding model, 39,308 new students received award letters for the 2026 academic year.
The ministry also reported improvements in school performance.
The percentage of learners achieving a D grade or better in English at Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary (NSSCO) level increased from 28% in 2016 to 62% in 2024, exceeding the target of 50%.
In mathematics, the percentage of learners achieving a C grade or better rose from 11.4% in 2022 to 18.1% in 2024.
Physics results also improved, with the percentage of learners achieving a C grade or better increasing from 23.4% in 2022 to 53.7% in 2024. In chemistry, the figure rose from 17.9% to 28.2% over the same period.
The number of learners obtaining at least three C grades at NSSCO level increased from 21.4% in 2022 to 29.5% in 2024.
School enrolment also grew, from 722,248 learners in 2017 to 880,821 in 2024.
Beyond schools, the plan highlights efforts to strengthen vocational training and equip young people with practical skills.
New vocational training centres were completed in Okakarara in 2022 and in Keetmanshoop, Nkurenkuru and Khorixas in 2024. The centres were inaugurated and operationalised during 2024 and 2025.
More than 200 trainers have also graduated through the Namibia University of Science and Technology’s vocational instructor training programme, which started in 2021.
The ministry further reported that about 32,000 pocket Wi-Fi devices and laptop computers were provided to qualifying students, alongside upgrades to information technology infrastructure at the University of Namibia and NUST.
Despite the progress, the strategic plan identifies several challenges, including inadequate funding, staff shortages, high staff turnover and limited training opportunities. Shortages of specialised skills have also affected the ministry’s operations.
The plan also records progress in youth development. The Youth Development Index rose from 0.49 in 2013 to 0.696 in 2023, exceeding the target of 0.58 set for 2022.
The ministry said its new strategic plan seeks to build on these achievements while addressing gaps in education, skills development and youth empowerment.
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