By: Kandjengo kaMkwaanyoka
My perspective on building the economy has evolved with every seminar, innovation session, and company visit I have attended.
One of the key solutions to our country’s shortage of innovative enterprises and low-value-added industries is to start reshaping the mindsets of students while they are still in school.
Imagine if, each year, students could visit strategic industrial hubs, unique companies, and pioneering institutions.
These trips would not only inspire curiosity but also give them a sense of the economy they will enter one day.
Most learners come from backgrounds with limited exposure to the modern economy and little understanding of what’s expected of them when they finish school.
This lack of exposure often results in graduates who don’t know how the economy works or how to participate in it.
This disconnect feeds high unemployment and a massive informal sector.
Our education system, unfortunately, sends out students with little direction, many of whom end up doing odd jobs or joining crowded street markets selling whatever is already being sold.
But what if we used their school years to change this?
The junior and senior phases should be a time to inspire, educate, and prepare students with basic economic knowledge.
School tours could be reimagined to go beyond trips to the ocean, historical sites, or wildlife reserves. Instead, students should be visiting industries, farms, processing plants, and innovation centres.
These experiences would not only ignite their imaginations but also help them explore career paths beyond the familiar options of teaching and nursing.
I remember visiting the Valombolo Vocational Training Centre in Ongwediva. Watching people create things with their hands, I felt inspired and wanted to pursue vocational skills.
I wanted to leave my secondary school and enrol in a vocational training centre (VTC) right away, but I was told I needed to complete grade 10 or fail to even be considered.
The stigma around VTCs was so strong that despite my interest, I didn’t feel much support.
If we truly want to prepare the next generation, we must regularly expose students to industries that drive our economy.
In many townships, all students see around them are printing shops, bars, and vegetable vendors.
But with school tours embedded in the curriculum, students from grades 8 to 12 could regularly tour manufacturing plants, farms, and other strategic companies.
These trips could transform their understanding of what’s possible in Namibia’s economy.
Moreover, we should introduce seminars on entrepreneurship, innovation, and the concept of capital early on.
This way, when students leave high school, they will be equipped to navigate Namibia’s challenging and often exclusive economy.
Revising the curriculum to include these mind-expanding activities is a step toward fostering innovation and developing better entrepreneurs.
If we want a future of self-sustained economic growth, we need innovators and entrepreneurs who understand and value our resources.
Exposing students to economic concepts and industries as early as possible is crucial, as they won’t likely gain this exposure after school while they’re busy trying to make ends meet.
Yes, it’s valuable to take students to Etosha National Park to appreciate our natural beauty, but we should also be organising trips to places like Meatco, Namib Mills, the Orano Desalination Plant, or the Aussenkehr grape farms.
These places could inspire the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs.
It’s time for school management to make school tours a core part of shaping the future leaders of our economy.
After visiting a mine or a large dairy farm, students will have a different view of entrepreneurship and an awakened curiosity.
We cannot claim to aim for industrialisation if we are not exposing our future leaders to industries. Let’s start preparing them with real-world experiences from an early age.
gerastus16@gmail.com
