“Contrasting, beautiful Namibia,” sings the Namibian national anthem — and Namibia is indeed a land of contrasts and beauty, both natural and cultural.
The environment ranges from the densely populated, palm-dotted plain of Ovamboland to the arid hills of the central highlands, and from the lush forest savanna of the Kavango and Zambezi to the dunes that roll the length of Namibia’s cold desert coast.
Among its diverse population are pastoralists, subsistence farmers, and a growing urban middle class. Namibia boasts eleven national languages, of which most Namibians speak two or three. Although English is Namibia’s official language, it is the first language of very few Namibians.
For all its diversity, a spirit of cooperation characterizes Namibia. Today, just a short time since gaining independence from South Africa in 1990, Namibia stands out as a country marked with remarkable progress and promise. This atmosphere of cooperation has allowed Namibia to concentrate its resources on basic needs, and education has been a top priority, garnering over 20 percent of the government budget annually.
Reforms to improve educational outcomes have included making English the medium of instruction from Grade 4 onwards, as well as supporting learner-centered pedagogy. Despite progress made since independence, Namibia’s need for volunteer teachers continues.
Facing a shortage of qualified teachers, particularly those that can teach effectively in English as mandated by the MoE, volunteers serve in posts that otherwise go unfilled. Moreover, with an average HIV infection rate of between 15 and 20 percent, and a growing population, the strain on Namibia’s education system is increasing exponentially.
Although living and working conditions in Namibia can be very demanding, the rewards of helping to build this invigorating new country through teaching abroad are tremendous.
As a teacher in Namibia, you could serve as an English, health, computer, or mathematics and/or science teacher in a wide range of schools, primary or secondary, rural or urban. You are responsible for 20-25 hours of classroom teaching, including lesson preparation and grading. In addition to teaching at least one core subject (English, math or science), you likely have additional elective courses to teach, such as physical education, art, health, or working in the school library or computer room.
In addition to your subject teaching, you might also encouraged to serve as an HIV/AIDS Resource Teacher should you be interested. As an HIV/AIDS Resource Teacher, you help facilitate HIV/AIDS awareness programs, such as clubs or activities that build life skills and empower learners to make healthy decisions, as well as working with teachers and administrators to integrate HIV/AIDS awareness into subject teaching and throughout the school. These types of roles of popular with people looking to really help or those interested in volunteering in Namibia.
Outside of the classroom, you are able to run secondary projects, such as teaching extra English classes, coaching sports, starting art clubs, developing the school library or computer room, or establishing scholarship funds to help learners access further education, just to name a few. You have a prime opportunity to contribute your skills and interests to the broader needs of your school and community.
One of the benefits of teaching here is exploring more of the country in your free time. You could book Namibia tours to go on safari and see the exotic African animals up close!