ACHIEVING LEARNING SUPPORT IN SCHOOLS: A SIMPLIFIED RESILIENCE

PLAN FOR SCHOOLS IN NAMIBIA

By K.S. Muhembo

Learning Support Team/ group is defined as, a team consisting of

teachers ensuring that the subject/class teacher offers needed
support to learners while working in consultation and collaboration
with them. All school must keep in mind that from the first day of
applying for admission to registration and orientation, every
stakeholders must be aware that they are working towards
promotion. Every student, learner or candidate wants to pass, their
academic year/ grade at the end of the year. Henceforth every
teacher, educator, principal or lecturer wants to see their
students/learners progress through to the next level or grade after each academic year.
2022 will not be an exception to this customs inherent in academic culture. Therefore, the
National Promotional Policy for Basic Education should be the departure of all schools
when re-opening. So that all planning of school activities should focus around how to best
achieve promotional outcomes as outlined in the National Promotional Policy Guide in
both Primary and Secondary schools in Namibia.

First I would like to departure with the awareness and implementation required in the
Resilience Plan of the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture (2021). Resilience Plan is
a holistic approach to ensuring that education continues safely and successfully, but also
to guide schools on how to bounce back should challenges arise or persist. This is
significant to remember that schools should continue successfully and safely. This
according to the Resilience Plan, should be done by adhering to the following aspects of
the plan. Schools are required to:
 Conduct a Diagnostic Assessment
 Develop School-Based Academic Recovery Plan (SBARP)
 Develop an Integrated School Health and Safety Programme (ISHSP)
 Set targets for teachers and learners based on Diagnosis Assessment outcomes

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  Set up Learning Support Groups and Programmes
 Design Individual Education Plan (IEP) for repeaters, condoned and transferred
learners.

To simplify the implementation of the Resilience Plan, below is a flow chart developed for
teachers, school managers and other stakeholders. This is to ensure that schools follow
and operate within the Resilience Plan of the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture as
set out in the plan. This is not only to achieve successful outcomes but to safe lives, assist
repeaters to achieve required competencies and reach the goals of education which are
equity, access and quality. Schools should adopt the following steps and adhere to the
flow chart as prescribed in the Resilience Plan of the Ministry of Education, Arts and
Culture. Here is a simplified flow chart as adopted from the Resilience Plan that may be
followed by schools.

Registration Diagnostic Assessment SBARP ISHSP

Target Setting IEP Promotion

Fig. 1. Resilience Flow Chart of Basic Education in Namibia

The guide hereinabove is to help educators plan the school year within the Resilience
Plan of the Ministry of Basic Education. It is equally meant to curb the spread of Covid 19
whilst achieving safety and successful basic education. It is further meant to inform the
parents to compel schools implement the Resilience Plan of the ministry within their
community. The effective implementation of the plan will ensure that children are not only
successful in schools, but safe and are assisted to achieve the basic competencies
required by the Ministry of Education Arts and Culture in Namibia.

The 10 elements of the Resilience Plan of the Ministry of Education that we ought to know
and look out if they exist in our schools are:
 The Rationalised syllabuses
 The Diagnostic Assessment

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  The School Based Academic Recovery Plan
 Mode of attendance
 Assessment (Formative and summative assessment)
 Learning support
 Information and Communication Technology
 Integrated School Health and Safety Program
 Standard Operating Procedure
 Social Accountability and School Governance

Educators should implement the Resilience Plan of the Ministry of Education, Arts and
Culture in schools to close the gap in the learning contents brought by covid19. We
acknowledge that most of our learners missed out on the subject contents due the
rationalised syllabuses implemented in 2020 and 2021 academic year. Therefore the
revised Promotional Policy requires that learners who demonstrates poor acquisition of
the required competencies from their previous grade must be supported through the
implementation of the Resilience Plan of the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture. Let
us promote education for all, in order to achieve the goals of education which are equity,
access and quality education for our children.