American International Journal of Social Science

Implementing Universal Primary Education in Namibia –Trends and challenges
Sakaria M. Iipinge, Gilbert Likando

Abstract
In the context of education being a fundamental human right; African governments have, since years of independence, embarked on the provision of free education. Many of the initiatives by African countries regarding the provision of universal education are closely aligned with the recommendation of the World Bank as expressed in international United Nations treaties (Katzao, 1999). Albeit enrolment figures in the primary phase increased by 18 percent between 1999 and 2008 in Sub Saharan Africa the pace of progress is insufficient to ensure that by 2015 all boys and girls complete the full course of primary education (MDGs Report, 2010). Worth noting is that universal primary education requires more than full enrolments. As the cutoff date of 2015 approaches to meet the targets of Education For All (EFA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Namibian Government has recently abolished school fees in primary education phase (grades 0-7) in public schools as of 2013, practically signifying a genesis of free primary education in the country. To what extent will this significant step contribute to the achievement of universal primary education in Namibia by 2015? What trends and challenges have been experienced? These are the questions this review paper attempts to respond to.

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