Niël Terblanché
As the new academic year got out of the starting blocks, many parents in the Khomas and Erongo regions of Namibia anxiously await news about whether their children will secure places in schools.
A massive undertaking is currently in progress to create new classrooms and schools to accommodate the growing number of students in these regions.
Sanet Steenkamp, the Executive Director of the Ministry of Education, Arts, and Culture, points to rapid urbanization as a primary cause of this predicament and the challenges posed by school choice.
“In many cases, rural schools have plenty of space, while urbanized areas experience a shortage of places for learners starting their primary and secondary school journeys,” Steenkamp said during an interview with Windhoek Observer.
The problem is particularly pronounced in cities like Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, where a perennial issue is the lack of space for primary and secondary phase students.
Parents in Swakopmund, waiting for good news, have been informed that they can regularly check with schools for available spaces for their children.
Meanwhile, in the Khomas Region, Windhoek schools are struggling with a shortage of classrooms, resulting in overcrowded classrooms with up to 50 learners per class.
To address this pressing issue, efforts have been made in the past year, with a focus on accommodating Grade 1 and Grade 8 students.
“We managed to construct 537 new classrooms and 77 ablution facilities across the country in just five months,” Steenkamp said.
She said that 85 new classrooms have been added to the Khomas Region. However, despite these efforts, growth areas in regions like Otjozondjupa are still struggling to find adequate space for learners.
Erongo received a glimmer of hope with the construction of two schools in Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, though they have not been completed yet.
Steenkamp reiterated that there are ongoing efforts to determine the number of children still awaiting placement accurately.
She acknowledged that for the time being, schools in the Khomas and Erongo regions might need to resort to a platoon system, where one group of children attends classes in the morning, while another attends in the afternoon.
In other regions, such as Oshana, two schools have been constructed in Ongwediva and Ondangwa, while urban areas in Ohangwena now have seven new schools from pre-primary to Grade 7.
She added that a new secondary school has been established in Rehoboth.
Steenkamp expressed her gratitude to the regional education authorities and communities for their dedicated efforts in addressing these challenges.
According to Steenkamp, regional placement committees are actively working to place children in schools, although it may not always be the parents’ preferred choice.
Steenkamp reminded parents that the admission process began in May and concluded in October last year.
“The regional education authorities are currently dealing with cases that have emerged due to parents not applying for admission during the designated period,” she added.
This ongoing struggle to accommodate learners in areas subject to rapid urbanization stresses the importance of proactive planning and investment in education infrastructure to meet the evolving needs of the Namibian population.
