Namibia faces shortage of over 1,900 pre-primary classrooms
Namibia faces a shortage of nearly 2,000 pre-primary classrooms, which is hindering school readiness and contributing to high repetition rates in early grades. Education officials are prioritizing the expansion of early childhood development centers to improve educational equity.
Why it matters
Addressing infrastructure gaps in early childhood education is critical for long-term academic success and reducing educational inequality in developing nations.
The Deputy Minister of Education, Dino Ballotti, has revealed that there is an estimated shortage of over 1,900 pre-primary classrooms in the country, a gap that is affecting school readiness and contributing to repetition in the early grades.
“NDP6 highlights a substantial gap between pre-primary and Grade 1 enrolment and estimates a shortage of 1,977 pre-primary classrooms. This affects school readiness and contributes to repetition in the early grades. Expanding integrated early childhood development and pre-primary provision, especially in rural areas and communities of indigenous minorities, is therefore both an access and an equity priority. Hence the welcoming of the integration of ECD centers into the MEIYSAC,” Ballotti said.
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