Good practice

SchoolNet Namibia

Namibia · Windhoek · See the Namibia profile

Una organización sin fines de lucro de Windhoek conectó a internet hasta 500 escuelas namibias mediante laboratorios Edubuntu de código abierto, ordenadores reacondicionados e incluso energía solar, formando a jóvenes desempleados como técnicos, hasta que la financiación y las relaciones con el gobierno se deterioraron, lo que llevó a su disolución en 2009.

500 schools

Escuelas conectadas en el pico (2006)

1500 schools

Total de escuelas en Namibia

Details

Maturity: Discontinued
Promoter: SchoolNet Namibia (Trust), with Telecom Namibia / XNet Development Trust
Period: 2000–2009
Keywords: school connectivity, digital literacy, ICT teacher training, open-source computing, youth employment

Context

Fundada en febrero de 2000, SchoolNet Namibia gestionaba su propio ISP, construyó laboratorios informáticos de bajo coste 'OpenLab' con PCs reacondicionados y Edubuntu de código abierto, y formó a jóvenes desempleados como técnicos de TI voluntarios para conectar escuelas namibias, de las cuales cerca de la mitad carecía de electricidad.

Results

La evaluación independiente es inusualmente buena para un programa de esta antigüedad: una evaluación encargada por Sida y una encuesta del Banco Mundial/infoDev de 2007 documentan un crecimiento de unas 120 escuelas conectadas en 2004 a un pico de unas 500 de las 1.500-1.600 escuelas de Namibia en 2006, señalando a la vez que los resultados de aprendizaje (a diferencia de la conectividad) nunca se monitorizaron.

Conclusions

La alta rotación de personal y la dependencia de voluntarios, señaladas como riesgos de sostenibilidad por la evaluación de Sida, resultaron premonitorias: SchoolNet Namibia fue disuelta voluntariamente por sus fideicomisarios el 17 de julio de 2009, tras perder el favor del gobierno.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-07-03
SchoolNet Namibia (Trust), with Telecom Namibia / XNet Development Trust — accessed 2026-07-03
World Bank/infoDev – ICT in Education in Namibia (2007) — accessed 2026-07-03
INASP Infobrief 2 – Empowering Youth and Connecting Schools (Sida-commissioned evaluation, 2004) — accessed 2026-07-03
Wikipedia – SchoolNet Namibia — accessed 2026-07-03

Quality score: 76/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Observational / pre–post

Top 23% in this catalogue (573 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Innovation level4/5

Combined open-source Edubuntu labs built from refurbished PCs, solar-powered connectivity in six off-grid schools, and a youth-technician volunteer model — an unusually resourceful approach for its 2000-era context.

Sustainability (ongoing)0/1

The organisation was voluntarily dissolved by its own trustees on 17 July 2009 after losing government relations and funding, so the initiative did not continue.

Evaluation evidence1/1

Documented by a Sida-commissioned independent evaluation and a 2007 World Bank/infoDev country survey, both with named methodology and figures.

Demonstrated reach1/1

Multiple independent sources corroborate reach growing from ~120 schools (2004) to a peak of ~500 schools (2006) out of Namibia's ~1,500 total.

Documented learning1/1

The Sida evaluation explicitly documented weaknesses — near-absent school-level data collection and high staff turnover — providing an unusually candid record of what did and didn't work.

Cite this

Evidoria. SchoolNet Namibia. Persistent ID: 358d4709-aec3-4cc9-92c8-9b566850c25c.

Export as decision brief (PDF)

Similar practices you may find useful

★ 68

Go Digital ASEAN — Brunei Darussalam

Brunei

A Google.org-funded, Asia Foundation-led programme trained underemployed youth, indigenous-community members and persons with disabilities in digital and e-commerce skills across …

★ 48

Tech4ED – Community ICT Centers for Education, Employment & Entrepreneurship

Philippines

The Philippines' Tech4ED places community ICT centers in schools, libraries and local-government offices nationwide, teaching digital literacy, e-government access and …

★ 96

Code to Inspire

Afghanistan

Code to Inspire, founded in 2015 in Herat, is Afghanistan's first all-female coding school, teaching coding, app and game development …

★ 96

Gaza Sky Geeks

Palestine, State of

Since 2011, Mercy Corps' Gaza Sky Geeks has trained over 60,000 Palestinian youth in coding, freelancing and startup skills through …