Teachers strike would cost Namibia dearly: education minister

Namibia's education minister said if the country's teachers go on strike and examinations fail to take place, Cambridge University will suspend or revoke accreditation.

The government has taken the Namibia National Teachers Union to the labor court in a bid to stop an indefinite nationwide strike scheduled for Oct. 13.

The labor court has set Wednesday as the date for the hearing.

Teachers want an 8 percent salary increase but the government has offered them 5 percent.

Grade 10 and 12 examinations in Namibia are currently underway and will end on Nov. 11. More than 115,800 pupils are sitting for the examinations.

In her affidavit disposed with the labor court Monday in Windhoek, Katrina Hanse-Himarwa said if the teachers strike, the lives and future careers of these candidates will be affected.

The minister also said the terms and conditions of accreditation between Namibia and Cambridge University entail that when examinations are not held according to set standards, the university has the right to revoke accreditation.

Hanse-Himarwa also said Namibia would still have to pay Cambridge University about 20 million Namibian dollars (about 1.4 million U.S dollars) even if the examinations fail to take place.

"In light of the foregoing, I submit that any leakage of examination papers or postponement of the examinations will have security implications for the 64 countries that are writing these same examinations," Hanse-Himarwa said.

The minister said because of lack of syllabus and subject experts in Namibia, they are forced to engage institutions such as Cambridge to ensure that the Namibian child is at par with others across the globe.

"Therefore, the integrity of the examination is paramount and has extra territorial implications and requires careful treatment in light of the anticipated strike," she added. Endit