THE Ministry of Education has appealed to retired teachers to rejoin the workforce due to a shortage of teachers.

The ministry placed advertisements in Friday's newspapers calling upon retired teachers who wish to return to the teaching profession this year to contact their nearest regional education office.

In another effort to address the teacher shortage, the ministry is offering automatic scholarships to those who wish to study education at the University of Namibia (Unam).

The ministry says it needs more teachers at pre-primary and primary level, and in specific subjects at secondary level such as economics, accounting, business studies, history, computer studies and all languages.

Ministry spokesperson Romeo Muyunda said on Friday that they are trying to counter the shortage of teachers in specific subjects, specifically in African languages.

It is not clear how many extra teachers are needed.

An analysis of last year's Grade 10 results showed that the subjects in which pupils performed worst were local languages.

"The retired teachers will be employed on a temporary basis as we look for qualified teachers," Muyunda said.

"Regional offices are requested to make use of their database of retired teachers to locate and invite them to apply."

Regional offices are also urged to hunt beyond the borders of Namibia for teachers, "especially in very scarce subjects".

Asked to explain the bursary offer, Muyunda said: "Applicants should just meet the admission requirements of Unam. When they are accepted by Unam, they will get the scholarship automatically."

"We appeal to Grade 12 qualification holders and holders of a senior certificate who meet Unam's enrolment requirements for a degree in education, registered students at institutions of learning who would like to change their career path, and mature students who can be considered at Unam," he said.