Empowered leadership: Strategic interventions drive regional success
Three regions rise through collective responsibility
Mamsey MusweuEducation minister Sanet Steenkamp, while delivering her keynote address on Tuesday, announced that Namibia’s 2025 academic results show an improvement, with 36% of full-time candidates qualifying for the Advanced Subsidiary (AS) level.
“This reflects the resilience of a cohort that missed 90 days of face-to-face schooling during the 2020 pandemic. Central to this progress were strategic turnarounds led by regional directors in Kavango East, Hardap, and Khomas.”
Kavango East: Christine Shilima’s empowerment model
Kavango East achieved the top national rank for NSSCO, rising from seventh place in 2024. Director Christine Shilima credited school leadership and the protection of principal creativity. “There was no magic... but in a nutshell, what I can say was support for the principals, empowerment for the principals, listening to the principals and protecting their creativity.”
The region introduced performance dialogues where teachers presented their 2025 plans to school boards. Shilima emphasised that “a well-supported teacher is a good performing teacher” and expressed gratitude to staff for working in a “conducive environment free of stress.”
Hardap: Paulus Lewin’s
aggressive five-year strategy
Under director Paulus Lewin, the Hardap Region achieved a remarkable rise in NSSCO performance, moving from 12th place in 2024 to second place nationally in 2025. Lewin implemented an “aggressive five-year turnaround strategy plan” with twelve objectives aimed at “restoring the dignity of the people of Hardap.”
Key priorities included holding principals and inspectors accountable for service delivery and promoting “good discipline” through school-community involvement. These initiatives nearly doubled the region’s AS qualification rate, from 13.8% to 25.7% in a single year.
Khomas: Paulus Nghikembua
and ‘The winning team’
Khomas rose from eighth to fourth place in NSSCO results. Director Paulus Nghikembua attributed this to a “Regional Plan for Academic Improvement” under the motto “Khomas – the Winning Team.” Nghikembua highlighted collective responsibility, noting that “teachers and learners, in particular, played a central role.”
A standout achievement was A. Shipena Secondary School reaching the national top 10 through targeted infrastructure and resource support. Despite a 2.8% annual increase in enrolment and land constraints in Windhoek, Nghikembua remains focused on a strategic plan extending to 2030.