Teachers in the Opuwo education circuit are taking steps to improve learning outcomes by developing a localised teaching manual for Social Studies learners in Grades 4 to 7.

The initiative aims to make education more relevant, practical and impactful for learners in the Kunene Region.

The aim is to create a practical and engaging manual that speaks directly to the lived experiences of children in Kunene.

The manual will include guided activities, topic-based assessments, practical investigations, projects and end-of-term tests, designed to support both teaching and learning in the classroom. 

Senior Education Officer in the Kunene Region, Philips Kamwi, explained.

“We developed an assessment manual booklet that is for Grades 4 to 7, in which we developed assessment topic tasks, practical investigations and their projects as well as end-of-term tests."

"The manual is important in the sense that it's going to serve as a blueprint on which teachers are going to benchmark; it will really help teachers as far as implementation is concerned,’ added a teacher of the Otjerunda Combined School Derrick Masangu.

But beyond structure, the focus is on relevance, bringing learning closer to home, according to a teacher of Kameru ECO Combined School, Maria Batista.

“When we are teaching, for example, physical features, when we are teaching about the environment and surroundings and the present where the child is, we must start with what the learner knows already. If it's about rivers, you can't start with the Kavango or Orange rivers that are far from the child; you must start with the Kunene rivers that the child knows.”

Batista stressed that when learners see themselves in what they are taught, their confidence grows and participation improves.

She says learners should be able to relate to the content in order to understand it.

The workshop has brought together senior education officers, principals, heads of department and Social Studies teachers, all united by one goal: improving results in the region.

Through collaboration, commitment and a shared vision, teachers in Kunene are not only creating a manual but also shaping a path towards a more inclusive and successful education system.