Staff Reporter
DEPUTY Minister of Education Dino Ballotti has acknowledged that a digital divide persists in Namibia’s basic education sector, but assured that the Ministry of Education is taking steps to address the gap.
“In basic education, the digital gap remains. Through our Strategic Plan, we are steadily improving digital access in our 1,699 government schools, made up of 884 primary, 222 secondary and 593 combined schools, as well as 66 libraries and cultural centres, by providing connectivity, ICT infrastructure, devices and digital services,” Ballotti said.
He made these remarks at the official opening of the National ICT in Education Convention and Exhibition (NICE2026), which recently took place in Otjiwarongo.
Ballotti said Namibia’s basic education system serves 968,015 learners across the country, supported by 36,092 teachers in 2,119 state and private schools. He added that the wider education ecosystem includes 66 public and community libraries, 16 Community Learning and Development Centres (CLDCs), multipurpose youth centres and regional sports stadiums spread across the country’s 121 constituencies.
“Behind every one of our 2,119 schools, 66 libraries, youth centres and sports facilities are young people with real potential, and every one of them deserves fair and equal access to the digital world. If we want to raise the next generation of athletes, artists, scientists and skilled workers, then digital access, infrastructure and skills must reach every classroom, library and youth centre in Namibia. The Namibia we all work towards is one of equality, and that means that funding must have equity at the top of the prioritisation,” he said.
Ballotti said the government’s vision for Namibia was one of equality, adding that equity should therefore be a key consideration when allocating funding.
The Deputy Minister said progress had already been made in equipping libraries and CLDCs with ICT equipment and digital services. He also highlighted the distribution of more than 32,000 pocket Wi-Fi devices and laptops to students and educators in higher education.
Despite these developments, Ballotti acknowledged that more work was needed to close the digital divide, particularly in basic education. He identified several major operational challenges affecting the transition to a fully digitised learning environment. These include limited and unreliable internet connectivity, particularly in rural and remote schools; ageing or inadequate ICT infrastructure; constraints within the electrical power grid; the high cost of commercial data and hardware maintenance; disparities in digital literacy among teachers and learners; and funding limitations.
He also pointed to difficult budgetary choices between constructing physical classrooms and investing in digital infrastructure. Nevertheless, Ballotti expressed optimism that these challenges could be overcome. He said the Ministry of Education’s Strategic Plan for 2025–2030 places digital transformation at the centre of its priorities.
“We have promised the nation: complete digitisation of core academic learning subjects aligned with the National Curriculum for Basic Education; establishment of an Integrated Digital Hub to streamline educational data management, e-learning platforms and administrative services; accelerated provision of computer laboratories, smart classrooms and internet infrastructure across basic education, youth skills centres and TVET colleges,” he added.
Photo: MICT
