New Entrepreneurship Textbooks

When I first began my service I thought it strange that entrepreneurship was a subject being taught to grade 8, 9, and 10 students. When I was in 8^th grade I doubt I even knew what the word meant and it wasn’t till college that I finally mastered the spelling of it. It is becoming apparent though why the subject has been introduced to such young learners; unemployment is extremely high in Namibia (over 50% in some regions) and many learners don’t have the means to continue their education beyond grade 10. Having basic business skills can become a valuable tool for learners when they finish their education. In fact, it is likely the most practical subject for them to fall back on.

Since the beginning the entrepreneurship teacher has expressed to me his frustration with the current textbook being used at the school. At first I thought he was creating excuses but I have since come to realize that the textbook is holding these learners back. There are several publishers putting out texts that follow the syllabus but they are of varying qualities. The current text being used, although simple and easy to read, is lacking good practical material. Additionally, the exams at the end of each term are being set by the regional educational office which relies heavily on the better texts for creating the questions. Further setting these students back is the fact that there are not enough textbooks for each learner. It is commonly said that “in Africa we share” but that apparently doesn’t apply when it comes to textbooks.

As a result of all of this, I have been motivated to get these learners better textbooks and enough for each learner. The lack of practicality and very low exam scores is not giving these learners the confidence they need with the subject. Without this confidence it is less likely that they will fall back on the skills they learned in class. It is my belief that better textbooks will improve the teaching in the classroom and make the learners more comfortable with entrepreneurship.

To make this happen though I need your help. The school does not have the funds to buy new textbooks for all the learners in grades 8, 9, and 10. To raise the nearly US$2,000 dollars for the new books I will be fundraising with learners to raise 15% of the amount and the school will match that with another 15%. The remaining 70% I am trying to raise through the Peace Corps Partnership Program. If you are interested in donating you can follow the link at the top of the right sidebar which will take you to the Peace Corps website where you can get more information and make your donation. Any amount would truly be appreciated.

Tangi Unene!