Call to abolish school fees in Namibia

UNICEF has proposed that the Government abolishes the School Development Fund (SDF) (school fees) to ensure that children access and remain in school. The UN agency said the elimination of fees should go hand in hand with adjustments to the operational budget of schools and the Education Development Fund (EDF) to focus on other costs relating to hostel fees and transport. The EDF was established in 2006 to ensure access to education for OVC (orphans and vulnerable children). It compensates schools for waiving payment of SDF fees ... At the moment, Namibia is only seven percent away from achieving the Millennium Development Goal 2 of achieving universal access to primary education by 2015. While this goal is nearly achieved, due to poverty, orphans and children made vulnerable because of HIV/Aids are finding it increasingly difficult to pay SDF. This information is contained in the Education Policy Paper titled "Stemming the Tide: Can Namibia pre-empt the reversal in Primary Education achievements?" which is authored by UNICEF Representative, Khin-Sandi Lwin ... Statistics indicate that the number of orphans under the care of grandmothers has increased from 44 percent in 1992 to 61 percent in 2000 ... Education Minister, Nangolo Mbumba, said given funding, the Ministry would subsidise certain schools in rural areas to ensure that no child is prevented from attending school ...