The Policy of Automatic Learner Promotion in Schools in Namibia: Compromising Quality in Junior Primary Grades in Zambezi Region, Namibia Політика автоматичного переведення учнів у школах Намібії: Компроміс із якістю в молодших класах початкової школи в регіоні Замбезі, Намібія

Objective. This paper, entitled, ‘The policy of Automatic Learner Promotion in Schools in Namibia: Compromising quality in Junior Primary grades in Zambezi region, Namibia, is a qualitative case study, that sought to understand the quality of the practice in the selected junior primary classrooms, challenges associated with the said policy, as well as the realities the Namibian government considered in introducing the principle of automatic promotion in schools. Post understanding government’s stance, it then becomes easier to suggest workable recommendations for the future. Materials and Methods. The qualitative data for this study were collected by interviewing teachers as well as by analysing learners’ books herein referred to as document analysis; two sets of learners’ exercise books were checked; for example, exercise books for learners who benefited from automatic promotion, and for those who did not. Results. The key question explored was, “How does automatic promotion affect quality learning in selected junior primary grades in Zambezi region, Namibia?”. The question is further explored through the question, “What challenges do teachers face in handling learners who pass through automatic promotion?”. Conclusions. The study found that automatic promotion does not, in any way, promote quality teaching and learning in junior primary grades in Zambezi region. This is due to that automatically promoted learners are trapped in two sets of backlogs, first, that of the failed grade and second, that of the new grade respectively.