AI STEENKAMP PRIMARY SCHOOL
A.I. Steenkamp Primary School (Steenkamp) is a school which serves pre-primary through grade seven learners in the township of Katutura located on the outer edge of Windhoek, Namibia. The mission of A.I. Steenkamp Primary School is “to provide the best quality education and to help our learners to seek the light for a better tomorrow,” which mirrors the school's motto of fiat lux-let there be light. Steenkamp serves approximately 1,400 learners with a staff of 43. The school is broken into two sects: lower-primary (pre-primary through grade three) and upper-primary (grade four through grade seven). Each grade level is divided into five classes, A-E for example 2A. Although class sizes vary, on average, there are 38 to 40 learners per class.
The school day at Steenkamp goes from 7h10 to 1h10 beginning with a staff devotion. Although the teacher prospectus clearly states teachers and learners must be in their home room classes by 7h10 for attendance, in reality, morning devotions do not usually begin until this time. Therefore, learners do not typically begin their first period class until 7h30 even though it is scheduled to begin at 7h20. Lower-primary classes remain in the same classroom with the same teacher for the duration of the day. However, upper-primary learners travel as a class for eight different periods a day to various classrooms. The school week begins with a Monday morning assembly which lasts approximately thirty to forty minutes. The entire school receives one break a day from 10h to 10h30, which is after upper-primary's fourth period. Steenkamp has a complex timetable which allows for learners to rotate through different subject areas including: english, maths, social studies, environmental studies, afrikaans, kkg, life skills, religious moral education, physical training, science, and arts. Learners attend core subjects, such as english and maths, everyday, where as other subjects, such as physical training and arts, are attended two to three times a week.
Learners and teachers are expected to attend school every day and arrive promptly unless prior arrangements have been made or illness occurs. All learners are also expected to wear full school uniform. For girls this consists of a blue and white plaid jumper, a belt, black shoes and short white socks. For boys this consists of grey shorts in the summer, grey pants in the winter, a grey button up shirt, black shoes, and tall grey socks. All learners are also required to maintain a certain level of cleanliness which includes combed or plated hair for girls and short combed hair for boys. Not only are learners required to keep themselves clean, it is essential for them to join hands with the staff to keep the school environment clean. Often times staff can be seen asking leaners to remove papers or scraps from the school yard. Homework is a necessary part of each learner's education and approximately two hours should be assigned every night. All learners write in exercise books, which are required to be covered with brown paper, have a cover sheet which denotes the name of the learner and the subject area, as well as their class name, and is then covered with thin plastic. As well as taking responsibility for covering their books, learners' families must also take responsibility for any injuries which take place on school premises. Papers are signed by families releasing the school from liability of injuries including death, which have occurred in the past.
School fees are supposed to be paid by all learners in the amount of N$250 per year, which help pay for the daily functions of the school. Although these fees are a requirement, only about 400 learners actually pay the full amount. This money goes to pay for some of the school's costs, such as maintenance, transportation, and phone lines; the majority of Steenkamp's monetary support comes from Namibia's Ministry of Education department. Steenkamp receives N$9 per learner for cleaning costs such as toilet paper and N$60 per learner for purchasing textbooks, which are based on the fifteenth day attendance statistics. Because Steenkamp is a state school, the staff salaries are allocated directly from the Ministry of Education. There is no system in place for daily substitute teachers. In the event which a teacher is absent, learners are either self-monitored, or supervised by a teacher who is free during a given period. If a
teacher is planning to be absent for a minimum of thirty days, for reasons such as maternity or surgery, a relief teacher is hired to take their classes for that time.
The Ministry of Education also provides the standards of learning for each grade in each subject area. There are uniform syllabi, which are distributed to each and every teacher for the subjects and grades they teach. Teacher then are required to teach according to each benchmark and standard listed in these. To assess that these standards have been met by each learner, clusters of schools create standardized tests, which are sent to the Ministry for approval and then given to learners three weeks before the end of the school year. Learners must receive a passing grade on this exam as well as in their classes in order to be promoted to the next grade the following school year.
Young Achievers Group Meeting
Katutura
Due to family situations and lack of financial means, only about two or three percent of leaners who come from Steenkamp will go on to study at the university level. This seems to be the case for the larger community of Katutura as groups, such as Young Achievers have formed to help motivate learners to seek higher education. Families in Katutura live in two different types of housing; stucco houses, which were built by the government, and shanty homes, which are made of metal, wood, and other scrap materials found throughout the area. The name Katutura, which means “the place where no one wants to live” was chosen by the black population when they were re-located there by apartheid in 1964. Katutura was originally separated into sects by tribe to prevent intertribal unity and overthrowing of the government. Because of this, there are strong relationships and community ties throughout the township.
More of Katutura
Education was much different before independence was granted to Namibia in 1990. Prior to independence, teachers taught with a teacher centered focus and learners were regarded little. The education teachers received was from a white South African perspective. Since it has only been twenty years since independence, schools are still in transition of new ways of thinking. This means many teachers who were educated before independence are still teaching and have to make monumental changes in their thinking. This 'new way' brings about a learner centered focus rather than a teacher centered one. Although progress is being made in the education system, Namibia is still a very young, independent country and has much room for growth. With the dedication and determination of emerging leaders in the field of education, there is no doubt that Namibia is on the track to a brighter future and a better tomorrow.
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