Transforming education: the power of ICT policies - Commonwealth ...

22% in 2002) and an estimated 15.3% adult HIV prevalence. However, HIV/AIDS remains a serious threat to the
country’s development. The Ministry of Education’s Policy on HIVAIDS in Education revealed that the pandemic
has already affected the life expectancy negatively and that it is impacting both the education system and human
development in Namibia (Ministry of Basic Education Sport and Culture and Ministry of Higher Education, Training
and Employment Creation, 2003). Adding to the HIV/AIDS challenge, Namibia has one of the highest tuberculosis
prevalence rates in the world (765 per 100,000 in 2006, with several regions reporting rates of over 1000 per 100,000).
(USAID, 2009 and World Bank, 2009). Table 2 below provides basic socio-economic indicators for Namibia.
Table 2: Socio-economic Indicators Namibia, 2007
Human Development Index (HDI) 1 0.686 (2007), ranking 128th out of 182 countries;
Human Poverty Index (HPI) 2 17.1%, ranking 70th out of 135 countries
Per Capita Gross National Income in US Dollars $1,728)
1. The HDI measures the average progress of a country in human development.
2. The Human Poverty Index (HPI-1) focuses on the proportion of people below certain threshold levels in each of the dimensions of the human development
index - living a long and healthy life, having access to education, and a decent standard of living. By looking beyond income deprivation, the HPI-1 represents a
multi-dimensional alternative to the USD1.25 a day (PPP USD) poverty measure. The HPI-1 measures severe deprivation in health by the proportion of people
who are not expected to survive to age 40. Education is measured by the adult illiteracy rate. And a decent standard of living is measured by the unweighted
average of people not using an improved water source and the proportion of children under age 5 who are underweight for their age.
Namibia is classifi ed as a lower-middle-income country by the World Bank. It has a small open economy closely
linked to South Africa. The economy is heavily dependent on the extraction and processing of minerals for export.
Mining accounts for 8% of GDP, but provides more than 50% of foreign exchange earnings. Rich alluvial diamond
deposits make Namibia a primary source for gem-quality diamonds. The country is the fourth largest exporter of
nonfuel minerals in Africa, the world’s fi fth largest producer of uranium, and the producer of large quantities of
lead, zinc, tin, silver, and tungsten. The mining sector employs only about 3% of the population while about 50%
of the population depends on subsistence agriculture for its livelihood. Namibia normally imports about 50% of
its cereal requirements; in drought years food shortages are a major problem in rural areas. Much of the land is
farmed, mainly for cattle and other livestock; approximately 40% of the land is commercially farmed and a similar
area is communal farmland. The commercial farmers are currently actively diversifying away from food crops and
into cash crops such as cotton and also, experimentally, tobacco. Tourism and, in particular, fi shing, are the two
other signifi cant industries (CIA, 2009).
The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) 2009 ranks Namibia 74th out of 133 countries
in terms of its Global Competitiveness Index. It reports that Namibia’s comparative strengths are the quality of the
institutional environment, property rights, independent judiciary and strong public trust in politicians. The GCR
reports however that Namibia’s health ranks low on its health sub-pillar, with high infant mortality and low life
expectancy and on the educational side, enrolment rates remain low, and the assessment of the quality of the
educational system remains poor. It also suggests that the country could do more to harness new technologies
to improve its productivity levels, with low penetration rates of new technologies such as mobile phones and
the Internet. The GCR also confi rms that the quality of Namibia’s infrastructure including its ICT infrastructure is
considered to be in excellent condition (World Economic Forum, 2009).
ICT Infrastructure
Namibia’s ICT infrastructure ranks amongst the best in Africa, according to a study done by ICT consultants,
Palladium Strategy Consultants (IT News Africa, 2009). However, technological activities are mostly urban-based
and tends to follow the traditional diffusion pattern of the national road network, except in broadcasting whereby
radio and TV programmes are well covered countrywide.
Namibia ranks 112th out of 154 countries on the ICT Development Index scoring an index of 1.92 in 2007 compared
to 108th in 2002 with an index of 1.58 (ITU, 2007). This suggests that relative to 2002 compared to other countries,
Namibia has dropped in rank over the fi ve-year period between 2002 and 2007 (ITU, 2009).
Case Study: Namibia | 71