Namibia's illiteracy rate of 60%-70% is one thehighest in Africa, 
a legacy of the country'scolonial past in which educational and 
employment opportunities were restricted to a very small,mostly white, 
minority of the population.  Thisreport contains the proceedings of an 
international consultative conference convened in April 1991 byNamibia's 
new independent government to articulate abroad-based national strategy 
for basic educationreform.  The conference underscored the country'sneed 
to move from the grossly discriminatory,teacher-centered education of the 
Bantu populationduring the colonial period, with its emphasis onrigid 
discipline and parrot-like learning, tolearner-centered education based 
on the principlesof equity, democracy, and relevance to adult 
life.Specific papers discussed, inter alia, theleadership role of the 
school principal orheadmaster; responses to basic education reform 
inLiberia, to elementary educational reform in SouthKorea, and to teacher 
education in Zimbabwe; and theresults of a survey of teachers, 
administrators, andcommunity leaders not attending the 
conference.Includes several worksheets used to guide discussionby 
conference working groups, as well as the initialaction plans developed 
by the groups.