THE education ministry and the Namibia National Teachers' Union (Nantu) have agreed to reduce the teacher-to-pupil ratio to 1/35.
The two parties agreed to better the situation in schools this week.
Part of the agreement between the two parties is that pre-primary shools should adhere to a 25 pupils per teacher ratio at all schools.
Another item they agreed on is that once a class reaches the limit, it should be split into an additional class at the existing school through the creation of temporary classrooms or a platoon system (double shift) at affected schools.
The education executive director, Sanet Steenkamp, told The Namibian yesterday that the ministry allocates teachers from the head office or from overstaffed schools within a given budget.
"Then they run a platoon system until we can close the infrastructure gap within that particular region," Steenkamp said.
She said this system is one way the ministry has been addressing teacher shortages, as some schools are overstaffed, while others are understaffed.
In the next two weeks, the Namibia National Students Organisation, Nantu and the ministry will assess the realities on the ground in most schools.
"After the 15-day school report statistics, we will then get together and look at how we can proceed," she said.
They also agreed that junior primary, grades 1, 2, 3 and 4, will adhere to 35 pupils per teacher at a school.
"Senior primary and secondary, that is, Grade 5 up to Grade 12 Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Advanced Subsidiary (NSSCAS level) will expand in the interim to 40 pupils to a teacher," the agreement letter reads.
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It also added that the regional education officials and union delegates will continue analysing the situation on the ground and inform the leadership in both offices throughout these upcoming four weeks.
"We will reconvene on this topic to further unpack the persisting challenges on 17 February 2023 and to pave the way ahead in the best interest of the Namibian child," the letter read.
"The ministry will negotiate with the relevant authorities to create the required teaching posts," the ministry said.
Last year, the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) reported that 4 311 teachers in the Ohangwena region are providing education to 117 293 pupils, making the region the most crowded in terms of pupil-to-teacher ratio.
This was in the 15th day school report.
The report also stated that the Ohangwena region has a pupil-to-teacher ratio of 27/1.
The //Kharas region stands at 24 686 pupils and 942 teachers, with a pupil-to-teacher ratio of 26/1.
In the past, there have been complaints that overcrowding was one of the reasons pupils were not performing well academically.
Unions, parents and pupils raised concerns over this and earlier this month, they gave the same reason for the poor Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary (NSSCO) and NSSCAS level national examination results.
Schools with a shortage of teachers can request for teachers from the head office or from an overstaffed school.
