Rebecca Kapitire Ndjoze-Ojo (born 18 March 1956 in Windhoek

Windhoek

Windhoek is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level. The 2001 census determined Windhoek's population was 233,529...

) is a Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

n politician and educator. A member of SWAPO, Ndjoze-Ojo has been a member of the National Assembly

National Assembly of Namibia

The National Assembly of Namibia is the lower chamber of the country's bicameral Parliament. It has a total of 78 members. 72 members are directly elected through a system of party-list proportional representation and serve five-year terms. Six additional members are appointed by the President.The...

 and Deputy Minister of Education since 2005.

Career

From 1978 to 1986, Ndjoze-Ojo taught at various high schools in Windhoek's black and coloured townships

Township (South Africa)

In South Africa, the term township and location usually refers to the urban living areas that, from the late 19th century until the end of Apartheid, were reserved for non-whites . Townships were usually built on the periphery of towns and cities...

 of Katutura

Katutura

Katutura is a township of Windhoek, Khomas Region, Namibia. Katutura was created in 1961 following the forced removal of Windhoek's black population from the Old Location, which afterwards was developed into the suburb Hochland Park. Sam Nujoma Stadium, built in 2005, is located within Katutura...

 and Khomasdal

Khomasdal

Khomasdal is a suburb of Namibia's capital of Windhoek in the Khomas Region. Founded as Windhoek's residential area for Coloured people, Khomasdal still is primarily composed of Coloured people....

. Leaving Namibia in 1986, she went to Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, where she studied and taught at Ahmadu Bello University

Ahmadu Bello University

Ahmadu Bello University is the largest university in Nigeria and second largest in Africa, second only to Cairo University, Egypt. It is situated in Zaria. It was founded on October 4, 1962 as the University of Northern Nigeria....

 in Zaria

Zaria

Zaria may refer to:*Zaria, a city in Kaduna State, Nigeria*Zaria , or Zoria, the Slavic goddess of beauty*Countess Zaria of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg, a member of the Dutch royal family...

. She returned to Namibia in 1996 and began working for the University of Namibia

University of Namibia

The University of Namibia is the national university of Namibia, located in the Pioneers Park district of Windhoek. Established by an act of National Assembly on 31 August 1992, UNAM includes Colleges of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Economics & Management Science Education, Humanities and...

's language department, which is her specialization. An expert on language policy, she has promoted the use of Namibia's indigenous languages

Languages of Namibia

Namibia, despite its scarce population, is home to a wide diversity of languages, from three language families: Indo-European, Bantu and Khoisan. During Apartheid Afrikaans, German and English held the position of official language; however, after independence from South Africa, the new government...

 in education. Prior to the 2004 election

Namibian parliamentary election, 2004

General elections were held in Namibia on 15 and 16 November 2004 to elect the President and National Assembly. The National Assembly election resulted in a landslide win for SWAPO, which won 55 of the 78 seats with over 75% of the vote. SWAPO's candidate for president, Hifikepunye Pohamba, won the...

, she was put on the electoral list for the ruling SWAPO party. SWAPO obtained 55 seats out of 72 and Ndjoze-Ojo entered the National Assembly. She was subsequently chosen as the Deputy Minister of Education.