School Clusters breaking isolation and creating connections

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How have school clusters improved the quality of teaching and learning in Namibia? How can school clusters improve the management of education? How do school clusters improve efficiency in Namibia? How do school clusters improve community involvement in education? How do school clusters improve planning and access to schooling in Namibia? What are some of the drawbacks of the cluster system in Namibia?

How have school clusters improved the quality of teaching and learning in Namibia?

Many teachers are based in small schools in remote parts of Namibia. They used to be isolated, having little contact with other people teaching the same subjects and few opportunities for in-service training or workshops. Once the schools were clustered together, teachers started to create cluster-based subject groups. They now get together to discuss and interpret syllabuses, and to draw up common schemes of work. Test papers are set, typed, duplicated, assessed and moderated as a group effort. This has helped to raise standards and improve equity between schools. Principals and teachers meet and learn from each other, sharing experiences and ideas, assisting each other with problems, consulting and co-operating at all levels. School visits from teachers or principals from within the cluster create a culture of sharing and mutual support. Teaching practices and teaching resources are more easily shared with between schools in the cluster. Advisory teachers can channel their inputs more effectively through cluster-based subject groups to reach all teachers within a given cluster.

How can school clusters improve the management of education?

School clusters work best when they are accompanied by as much decentralised and participatory decision-making as possible. In the regions in Namibia where the cluster system is most active, many management decisions are made at local levels in schools and clusters. Cluster management committees, made up of all principals in each cluster, provide a platform to share and resolve problems. Circuit management committees, comprising the cluster centre principals and the circuit inspector, provide a link to the regional management level. The role of principals is thus broadened to include general management and education issues in their clusters. Using a participatory approach, cluster centre principals support and guide the satellite schools (other schools in the cluster). The positive example of cluster centres that are well managed encourages satellite schools to improve their management practices. This goes along with the development of a constructive competitive spirit between schools. The administration of schools is improved through training, which is followed up at cluster management meetings. Principals are encouraged to take more responsibility for staff supervision and accountability. Teacher absenteeism is reduced when more principals are involved in the joint management of schools. Schools are managed more as networks than as individual "empires".

How do school clusters improve efficiency in Namibia?

Clusters separate the very large circuits into a series of inter-related and more manageable parts through which information can flow and within which resources can be used rationally. Communication is channeled through the cluster centres to all the satellite schools, helping to speed up communication between schools and inspectors, the regional education office and head office. Stationery and textbook orders are placed by the cluster centre and distributed from the circuit offices, rather than each school having to do this independently. The distribution of all materials is improved, and time and transport costs are saved. The collection of statistics is coordinated through the cluster centre, again saving time and transport costs. More efficient use is made of resources, such as classrooms and learning materials when schools share these resources. Appropriately qualified teachers can be shared between schools in remote areas where there are shortages of skills, or where enrolments at individual schools do not justify particular posts. Appointments and transfers of teachers can be considered and recommended through a process of consensus involving the school boards, the cluster management committee and the cluster centre principal, before being referred to higher levels for approval. The cluster system provides a framework through which a more comprehensive and co-ordinated programme of training can be delivered efficiently at each cluster centre.

How do school clusters improve community involvement in education?

By bringing parents and others together in various cluster-based groups, clusters allow the whole community to be better informed about the activities of their children and their schools. As parents become more informed about what goes on in schools, they can play a more active role in school activities. They are more likely to encourage their children to attend school, complete their homework and to be involved in extra-mural activities. They can also respond more actively to issues such as teacher and learner absenteeism.

How do school clusters improve planning and access to schooling in Namibia?

In the past, most education planning has concentrated on individual schools, with the result that schools tended to develop independently from what was happening in nearby schools and without regard to the needs of the greater community. Clusters now provide a framework for planning the provision of schooling in a wider and more logical context. Planning needs and statistical returns can be discussed at cluster management committees to make recommendations on needs for physical facilities. Problems of access - where learners live far from schools - can be assessed. Within the larger context of the cluster, additional grades can be planned and offered at schools best chosen for this purpose. Networks of schools can be established so that learners progress through the grades by moving to nearby schools that offer higher phases, rather than having to drop out or move to distant schools.

What are some of the drawbacks of the cluster system in Namibia?

School clusters have worked most effectively where there is support from the regional management, where decision-making has been encouraged at school and cluster levels, and in rural areas where schools are reasonably close together. The following drawbacks have been noted in parts of Namibia: Clusters do not function well where there is a lack of commitment from any of the management levels. The additional work demanded by a new education approach is seen as a burden by some people. As yet there are no financial incentives for cluster centre principals who bear the main brunt of the additional workload. Large and successful schools in urban areas, which have adequate teaching resources, tend to regard school clustering as a burden rather than an advantage as the time of their staff is already taken up with internal management and training activities. Where distances between cluster schools are large due to their remoteness, travel costs become expensive. Government funds to improve school resources are inadequate, and school fund-raising is limited in poor communities. Thus cluster-based initiatives such as shared examinations and sports/cultural events are often curtailed due to financial constraints.