This study is an attempt to examine the implementation of the cost sharing policy
in Namibia. The study was planned and designed to investigate the effects of cost
sharing in six secondary schools in the Oshikoto Region and how it impacted on
equity in access of learners to secondary schooling. All education stakeholders
form the Director of the Educational Region, Inspectors, principals, learners and
parents participated in the research study by way of answering either
questionnaires or taking part in interviews with the researcher. The study gathered
a wealth of information from those interviewed relevant to the study of the effects
of cost sharing in an independent Namibia. The study revealed that the cost
sharing policy has affected households and learners of the Oshikoto Region
negatively. Due to the fact that the majority of parents in the Region live in rural
areas with less developmental infrastructure and hence are therefore unemployed,
they find it hard to sustain the escalating cost of education at secondary level. The
result of the innaffordability of school fees forces many parents to take their
children out of school in order for them to go to urban centres to look for work.
Whilst the implementers of the policy of cost sharing maintain that the policy has
been implemented successfully, they are quick to acknowledge that there are a
number of challenges facing them in the actual enforcement of the policy due to
the level of income of most parents in the Region. Parents and learners on the
other hand complain about the escalating cost of education at secondary and
boarding schools in the Region. The cost of books and supplementary have
become enormous and have been shifted to parents to bear. The government while
advancing the highest budget allocation to education cannot keep up with the new
demand of infrastructure and growing population.
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The findings of the research suggest that the implementation of the cost sharing
policy have different negative bearings of parents and learners in rural areas more
than their counterparts in urban centers. While the cost sharing policy was
intended to serve as a collective effort by all stakeholder in the advancement and
improvement of an effective education delivery in Namibia, little cognizance has
not been given to other socio-economic factors affecting the majority of parents in
effectively contributing to the education of their children. The findings further
suggest that more broad-based research is needed to be undertaken to determine
the extent to which the policy of cost-sharing affects other Regions in Namibia, in
comparison to the Oshikoto Region.