An Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of Usaid Support To Namibia’s Basic Education In Omusati Region

bstract

The colonial regime left Namibia with a fragmented education system characterised

by factors such as racial and ethnic divisions, unequal access to education,

unqualified and under-qualified teachers and lack of proper schools facilities and

poor performance.

After independence, the Government made a commitment to reform the education

system. An education policy ‘Toward Education for All’ was put in place to guide

the education reform process. As a result, the education sector receives the highest

budget allocation in anticipation of making education accessible to all Namibians.

This study aims to analyse and evaluate the support provided by USAID to basic

education in Omusati Region from 1990-2003, in order to establish its effectiveness

by eliciting responses from beneficiaries and the study is based on Chen’s theory of

impact evaluation.

The support provided include the deployment of Peace Corps teachers, provision of

office equipment, books and capacity building for Namibian teachers and

administrators and a small grant for income generating projects. Furthermore, the

study looked at the performance of education in the Omusati region in general and

problems and challenges facing education in the region.

This evaluation is a qualitative study. Interviews and questionnaires were used to

collect primary data, in addition to secondary data gathered through documentary

analysis and internet searches. The analysis of information collected from primary

and secondary data is mainly descriptive.

The thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter One gives a background to basic

education in Namibia. Chapter Two discusses the theoretical framework and the

methodology used to carry out the study. Chapter Three discusses USAID Basic

Education Support Programmes, while Chapter Four gives an overview of Basic

Education in Omusati region. Chapter Five provides the analysis and findings of the

study and Chapter Six the conclusion and recommendations.

The main finding of the study is that 74% of the schools in the region received

USAID support. The support provided has however, not significantly improved the

pass rate of the learners which is one of the objectives of USAID support to

education. The study ends with recommendations that may be useful to implement

in order to improve the situation and ensure that aid provided contributes to the

quality of education and make meaningful contribution in the life of the

beneficiaries.