IMPORTANT ANNOUCEMENT 

EDITOR’S LETTER

MAKE IT COUNT

Dear Students,

As you head into your School-Based Studies (SBS) placement, remember this is your time to learn by doing. It’s the practical side of your training a chance to observe, apply your knowledge, and grow as a future educator.

Though IOL is a distance learning institution, these few weeks are your opportunity to step into the real classroom, make an impression, and put theory into action.

Approach each day with purpose. Represent IOL with pride. Learn, contribute, and carry the
institution’s name high.

All the best on this important step in your journey!

COURSE COORDINATOR

BRENDA EIMAN

From Soldier to Teacher: Charlene’s Journey of Resilience and Hope

My name is Charlene Van Zyl, now Snyders. I’m a proud Grade 3 teacher at J.T.L. Beukes Primary School in Rehoboth and a proud student of the Institute for Open Learning (IOL). My journey was not easy, but every step brought me closer to my dream.

Growing up in a home affected by alcohol abuse, my dream of becoming a teacher seemed unreachable. After school, I joined the Namibian Defence Force because I had no means to pay for tertiary education. For 10 years, I served in the military while supporting my disabled mother, two school-going siblings, and later, my son born without a right hand.

In 2017, I left the Defence Force, used my pension to enrol for the Diploma in Junior Primary Education qualification at IOL, and began my studies in 2018. IOL’s flexible, distance-learning model suited my circumstances perfectly.

My teaching career began with a relief post in Rehoboth, surviving on just N$50 per day barely enough for transport and a soft drink. Despite many setbacks, including unpaid tuition and temporary teaching contracts, I never gave up. My husband supported me by selling meat packs from a single cow, and together we paid off my student loan and tuition.

We eventually had to sell our plot and move to a rental home just so I could complete my final semester. In 2022, I proudly graduated with both English and Afrikaans qualifications as required by the Ministry of Education. I was placed on probation and later appointed permanently as a teacher.

In 2023, I completed an Advanced Certificate in Primary Education and bought our own home in 2024. Today, I continue my studies with a B.Ed. Honours degree and dream of becoming a lecturer at the University of Namibia and someday earning a Doctorate.

To anyone reading this: never give up. Focus on your goals, not your obstacles. I am living proof that with determination, faith, and support, anything is possible.

Thank you, IOL, for walking this path with me.