Análisis de Resultados

Recruitment and appointment systems in the Public Service are generally recognised as being

unwieldy. The public service requires extensive procedures to improve transparently in recruitment and appointment, but this also predispose to delays.61 Complaints of slow advertising and appointment processes were heard in schools, regions and particular programmes at Ministry levels. Surveyed school heads’ estimates of time taken to fill vacant posts varied widely, from one to fourteen months, with a median of around 3 months for all posts, and up to 2 years in the case of teacher posts.

Inefficiencies appear to occur at all stages in processes from institution through to Ministry level and then in referrals of various matters to the OPM and other role players. A large part of the problem seems to be the large number of stages and players in the relatively centralised recruitment and appointment processes. This means that even when individual players attempt to increase efficiency they have limited impact on the overall process.62 Significant delays seem to often occur through inefficiencies at lower levels, and recent cluster initiatives have been noted to improve efficiency of lower level processes to avoid delays.

Transfers and redeployment are possible but are a sensitive issue as illustrated by recent initiatives to

redeploy teachers from Katima Mulilo region, which has relatively high learner: educator ratios to other regions.

Equitable allocation of staff is already a major challenge to the Namibian education system. Recent revision of staffing norms has provoked some controversy, and available databases are manual or provide insufficient detail to track recent movements of staff and implications for equitable distribution of educators. Particular deployment problems arise when staff apply for more than one post simultaneously and fail to turn up at the last moment due to appointment elsewhere.

Implications of HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS can have several important implications in relation to appointment, transfer and deployment systems.

• HIV/AIDS could substantially increase turnover and attrition rates and associated administrative burdens, delays and inefficiencies. Rates of staff losses from all causes in surveyed schools were

7.5% per annum, with higher rates of 8.5% in northern regions.63 A total 3% overall attrition rate

60

It was noted that many learners already use NAMCOL materials in addition to what they receive at school. These materials are often well suited to situations where there is limited formal teaching capacity, and significant numbers of teachers are familiar with the materials through teaching for NAMCOL.

61

Part of the solution is seen as developing competency based, rather than qualifications based, job descriptions to assist in screening and planning training. Ministry managers are also being encouraged to write better job descriptions to facilitate selection.

62

For example, Personnel Administration indicated that their internal processes were quite reliable and efficient, and advertising processes are felt by OPM to be quite quick provided Ministries notify OPM efficiently.

63

Chapter 3: How will HIV/AIDS affect capacity to deliver education 57 from the education system was reported by GIPF for 2000. In addition to turnover due to loss of staff, extra turnover can be expected when staff try to transfer to be closer to health services or to families to provide or get support. Projected death rates between 1.5 and 3.5% (ARV and no-ARV scenarios), could substantially increase complexities of the managing appointments and result in poorer education delivery in many institutions.

• Costs of delays in replacement of staff are likely to be lower than for illness related absenteeism.

However, with reported average delays of 3 months in appointment of replacement staff to schools, this could add a further 50% to estimates of costs of absenteeism due to illness.64

• Transfers are likely to be more difficult to manage. Some regions report many applications for

transfers on the basis of ill health and some to enable staff to be closer to sick or affected family. Reported effects include:

o Increased administrative burdens.

o Conflict and complaints to unions due to the policy of only transferring when a vacant post is available, and in cases where transfers are enforced to deal with skills shortages in certain areas.

o Complaints by school heads when staff who transfer in are too ill to perform their duties. Budgets for transfers where certain allowances have to be paid may also come under strain, although the overall additional cost at system level is likely to be small.

• Staff deployment and staffing norms become more complex.

o In some regions it was noted that “overstaffing” in terms of norms could be misleading as some schools had several sick and under-performing educators simultaneously.65

o Loss of staff to HIV/AIDS, particularly in remoter and rural areas which have difficulty in attracting and retaining staff, adds a new complexity to achieving equitable distribution of capacity.

• Discrimination or inefficiencies could occur in application of exclusions of people with

HIV/AIDS from permanent appointment.66 It is uncertain how Public Service Act provisions are being applied in practice in cases of people with HIV. Exclusion of some people with HIV but with good prognoses (especially if they can access ARVs through employment) could be unfair and lead to unnecessary skills shortages. Failure to limit appointments of people who will progress rapidly to incapacity could undermine education quality and increase costs.

Recommendations – recruitment, appointment, transfers and deployment

• Consider ways to streamline recruitment and appointment processes. Options may include

revitalizing plans for a computerised HR management system, enhanced training of line managers and personnel offices, and negotiating greater flexibility for local recruitment and transfers where functional benefits are clear to circuit and Regional managers.

• Review and monitor deployment and transfer systems to ensure efficiency and fairness. Specific

issues for consideration include: specific challenges related to filling management posts and other key positions; managing transfer of staff who would more appropriately be boarded due to incapacity, perhaps through requiring more systematic medical review of transfer applicants; resolving problems of applicants for multiple posts who then fail to turn up in some locations; reviewing staffing norms to accommodate a certain percentage of staff with limited capacity due to ill health.

64

These costs would not be financial, as a vacant post does not be result in higher expenditure unless relief teachers are more expensive than permanent ones. However, the costs of vacant posts will manifest in poorer education quality, stress and morale problems.

65

In some countries, concentration of sick educators in urban schools close to better health facilities has been noted.

66

In terms of the Public Service Act, no person can be permanently appointed if they have a disease that is likely to interfere with their ability to perform their duties and candidates can be required to undergo a medical examination. Also, all new appointees are considered to be on probation.

Chapter 3: How will HIV/AIDS affect capacity to deliver education 58

• Consider issues such as housing and other incentives to ensure equitable distribution of teachers and streamline transfer and redeployment, particularly for rural and remote schools.

• Monitor application of exclusion of people with ill health from employment to assess whether

practice is unfair or inefficient.