Good practice

SchoolNet Namibia

Namibia · Windhoek · See the Namibia profile

Uma organização sem fins lucrativos de Windhoek ligou até 500 escolas namibianas à internet através de laboratórios Edubuntu de código aberto, computadores recondicionados e até energia solar, formando jovens desempregados como técnicos — até que o financiamento e as relações com o governo se deterioraram, levando à sua dissolução em 2009.

500 schools

Escolas ligadas no pico (2006)

1500 schools

Total de escolas na Namíbia

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 em fevereiro de 2000, a SchoolNet Namibia geria o seu próprio ISP, construiu laboratórios informáticos de baixo custo 'OpenLab' com PCs recondicionados e Edubuntu de código aberto, e formou jovens desempregados como técnicos de TI voluntários para ligar escolas namibianas, das quais cerca de metade não tinha eletricidade.

Results

A avaliação independente é invulgarmente boa para um programa desta idade: uma avaliação encomendada pela Sida e um inquérito do Banco Mundial/infoDev de 2007 documentam um crescimento de cerca de 120 escolas ligadas em 2004 para um pico de cerca de 500 das 1.500-1.600 escolas da Namíbia em 2006, ao mesmo tempo que assinalam que os resultados de aprendizagem (ao contrário da conetividade) nunca foram monitorizados.

Conclusions

A elevada rotação de pessoal e a dependência de voluntários, assinaladas como riscos de sustentabilidade pela avaliação da Sida, revelaram-se premonitórias: a SchoolNet Namibia foi dissolvida voluntariamente pelos seus administradores em 17 de julho de 2009, após perder o apoio do governo.

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)

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