Author: Paheja Siririka
The status of education in Namibia is being challenged by many obstacles which led to some organisations and citizens joining hands to offer the little resources they have to lift the weight off the government. One such initiative is #TeamGraduate.
Founder of #TeamGraduate Helena Mboti (27) is spearheading this proudly Namibian start-up that aims to supplement efforts to educate Namibian learners.
“We initially wanted to cater to secondary but realised the need to address senior primary from Grade 5 and we aim to provide a holistic way to support learners through their education,” she said.
The initiative will be entering the e-learning space as from May this year. “A first for Namibia, #TeamGraduate combines education, motivation, inspiration and action tools to help the Namibian pupil achieve their dream of one day graduating,” explained Mboti.
#TeamGraduate is a web-based application divided into three main sections: daily motivational and inspirational messages to keep pupils going in their educational journey, access to study notes on the e-learning section, the career information hub as well as the adult education section.
She mentioned that partners from the public and private sector and ordinary Namibians are encouraged to contribute in whatever way. The collaboration will only make these efforts more impactful.
“I was exposed to a lot of e-learning opportunities through the Mandela Washington Following in America and one thing I can tell you right now is collaboration in such instances can take us far and will be able to solve a lot of issues,” she said.
Mboti, an economist by profession said the obvious collaborators needed are teachers as they know the educator sector all too well. “I am not an educator but if the experts are on board, we can do a lot; others whose expertise will be highly needed are graphic designers, videographers, people who can edit videos for the learners and so forth, anyone can contribute something, ” detailed Mboti.
Due to the main issue of e-learning having a toll on those who are in remote areas and a portion of those who don’t have the necessary machinery, #TeamGraduate is inviting partners in the public and private sector to make use of the platform to strengthen their efforts in offering remote learning.
Mboti believes the current national pass rates do not represent the true intellectual capability of Namibia. With the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic affecting various sectors including education, it has become imperative to find sustainable solutions to keeping learners in school during the lockdown.
The #TeamGraduateCalendar is another tool which learners will get on the platform, helping them stay updated on important events and notices – serving as a ‘personal assistant’ and helping the user stay organised.