THE Ministry of Education says the International Policy Dialogue Forum to be hosted by Namibia next week has come at an opportune time where issues affecting teachers will be highlighted.

The conference, to be attended by 150 international and an equal number of local delegates, is aimed at keeping teachers on the political agenda and to support countries to address the need to develop appropriate policies and to properly fund education to improve the conditions under which teachers work.

Namibia has been chosen to host the international dialogue on Teachers for Education for All (EFA) at a conference in India, where it attended the forum for the first time.

The permanent secretary of education, Alfred Ilukena, said yesterday that an EFA task force had implemented various programmes since 2009 to reinforce coordination among partners and stakeholders to address major gaps that are preventing countries from achieving EFA goals.

Ilukena said Namibia was part of the international task force on teachers for education for all whose primary objectives are to coordinate global issues of teachers “to support countries to address the need to develop appropriate policies, acquire the capacity to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate, generate/mobilise the necessary financial means”.

The conference will discuss issues such as teacher education and professional development, teacher management and support, teacher monitoring and evaluation and responses to teachers’ challenges.

“As a ministry responsible for teachers and education as a whole, we are excited to be hosting an event of such great magnitude. This shows commitment by our government to address teachers’ issues in the country by tapping from the knowledge of international experts,” he said.

He said the ministry was concerned “about the unbearable situations our teachers live and work in”.

“I am hopeful that by the end of this conference ideas would have emerged on how to improve such conditions,” he said.