Part of the Namibian Ministry of Basic Education and Culture, NIED works in the following areas:
- curriculum research and development
- language teaching
- professional, research and resource development
- pre-service teacher education (in cooperation with the colleges of education and the university)
- in-service teacher education through resource centres at regional, district and local levels.
The website includes details of NIED, its resource centres, and publications. Publications inlcude curriculum policy documents, teacher guides, subject policy guides, and research documents; some are available to download as full texts.