The Evolution of Deaf Education in Namibia

Abstract

This chapter starts with the description of deaf education in the Namibian context in terms of providing formal education for learners who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). It traces the history of deaf education from the 1960s to date and reports on early childhood education and primary, secondary, and tertiary education for this population. The second section of the chapter describes the road that Namibia has taken considering the needs and challenges the country is facing in providing quality education to DHH learners. The outcomes of two important conferences dealing with this issue are discussed. The last section discusses options for the way forward. Despite constraints in financial and human resources, there has been definite progress in the provision of quality education to DHH learners in Namibia.