SEM BILLY DAVID
As schools reopen for registration for the 2027 academic year, thousands of parents and learners are not celebrating new beginnings for their bundles of joy.
Instead, they are spending their days moving from one school gate to another, standing in queues, refreshing online portals, or desperately making calls in search of a school placement that never seems to come.
The now-familiar crisis of “no space in schools” has once again hit, particularly in Khomas, and with it a painful question arises: how do we deal with this headache of school registration for our children?
The answer points not to bad luck or sudden population shocks, but to long-term weak government planning. This clearly shows that we have too few schools and inadequate classrooms to accommodate learners.
Has the ministry or government, in terms of budgeting, planned for this? Even though we want every Namibian child to be in school as a constitutional right, our government seems to struggle with planning ahead and always tends to address matters only once they have already arisen. This is weak governance.
A crisis we saw coming
The shortage of school places in Khomas is not new. Every year, the same scenes repeat themselves: parents sleeping outside school premises hoping to secure a spot for their children; learners registering for Grade 0–1 or for the next grade wandering from one school to another, begging to be accepted; regional and national officials scrambling to form emergency shifts and sort out issues through last-minute directives.
This is not an unexpected disaster. Census data, migration trends to Windhoek and surrounding areas, and internal enrollment figures have long shown that Khomas is growing faster than its existing school infrastructure.
A responsible, forward-looking government should plan for that growth, not simply react once the damage is done.
The results of weak planning
The current struggle of school placements in Khomas exposes deeper weaknesses in educational planning and governance:
1. Inadequate school infrastructure and digital rooms
The construction of new schools and expansion of existing ones has not kept pace with urbanisation and population growth.
Informal settlements and new residential areas mushroom, but classrooms, hostels, and laboratories lag years behind. There are many indications of schools far from each other, and many locations have insufficient public schools.
Children walk long distances to find schools in other locations. Most importantly, there is no modernised system for digital registration in public schools.
2. Poor coordination and data use
The government has access to data on birth rates, school completion rates, and internal migration.
Yet these figures are not being effectively translated into timely decisions about where and when to build new schools, hire more teachers, or invest in additional facilities.
With data available every year, every region and constituency must prioritise building new schools.
3. Budgeting that ignores reality
Education is often declared a “priority”, but the allocation and release of funds tell a different story. Capital budgets for school infrastructure remain insufficient, and when funds are allocated, they are sometimes delayed or underspent due to bureaucracy and poor project management.
4. Late and reactive measures
Instead of long-term solutions, authorities resort to emergency interventions – temporary classrooms, shifting learners to overcrowded schools, or calling for “patience” from the public. These are band-aids on a deep structural wound.
Human cost behind the numbers
The ongoing school placement crisis in Namibia highlights serious shortcomings in planning and administration within the education sector.
Every year, thousands of parents and guardians are forced to move from one school to another in search of placement for their children, wasting valuable time, money, and energy resources that many families can hardly afford.
In a country that speaks so often of development, empowerment, and Vision 2030, it is a bitter irony that so many children are being left at the gate of the very system that is supposed to empower them.
What must be done from now
In an era where technology is transforming societies around the world, it is time for the government to introduce a centralized digital enrolment and registration system.
Such a system would allow parents and guardians to register their children online and on time, making the school placement process more efficient, transparent, and accessible.
A digital platform would not only reduce long queues and unnecessary travel but also help the Ministry of Education monitor available spaces in schools in real time.
More importantly, it could significantly reduce opportunities for corruption, favouritism, and bribery that often arise during school reopening periods.
Beyond digital registration, the government should also consider:
· Creating a national database of school vacancies so parents can easily see which schools have available spaces.
· Introducing an SMS notification system to inform parents about application status, placement results, and deadlines.
· Expanding school infrastructure in overcrowded areas to accommodate the growing number of learners.
· Establishing clear and transparent placement criteria to ensure fairness and equal opportunities for all children.
· Providing community internet access points in rural and underserved areas so that families without smartphones or computers can still access the system.
Education is not a favour
Education is a fundamental right, and no parent should have to struggle every year simply to secure a place for their child.
Namibia has the opportunity to modernise its education system and ensure that school placement becomes a process defined by efficiency, fairness, and dignity for all.
Government officials sometimes speak as if providing education is a favour extended to the public. It is not. It is an obligation, a constitutional duty, and a moral responsibility.
If banks, private hospitals, and businesses can offer services digitally, why can’t government school enrolment and placement in Namibia be modernised to serve parents and learners more effectively?
