Pupils Battle to Get Into Schools

The search for a school place will continue today for hundreds of grade one, seven and 11 learners who were turned away yesterday.

Education officials in various parts of the country contacted by The Namibian yesterday cited a lack of adequate classrooms and hostel accommodation as the main reason for the failure to get placements.

Some schools enrolled up to 40 learners per classroom instead of the recommended 30 to 35.

In Windhoek most schools turned away children and blamed parents for waiting until the last minute to enrol their children.

"We are full to capacity. We had to turn away 30 Grade one learners and 20 Grade seven learners because of lack of space," said Elias Uanga, principal of Bet El Primary School in Katutura.

Pauline Buchani, Deputy Principal of the People's Primary School in Katutura, said her school did not have sufficient classroom space.

"Already our classes average 41 or more pupils per teacher, and the Government directive said that this should be only 35. But we can't turn children away. "Our school is in big demand. The classes are overcrowded and there is not enough space for all the children to play," Buchani said.

She said she hoped to reduce the size of the classes, especially at Grade three and four levels, which are the most affected.

In Grade seven there was an average of 38 learners per teacher, while the ratio for Grade six was 41 learners to one teacher.

In the North, some learners who sat for Grade 10 exams through the Namibian College of Open Learning (Namcol) last year could not be accommodated in formal schools to continue their education.

Director of Education for Ondangwa East, John Kandombo, told The Namibian that the former Namcol learners had increased the number of learners seeking to be accommodated in formal schools.

He said all learners from Grade One to 10 would be accommodated without a problem because enough posts had been created for new teachers and classrooms built.

Education Director for Ondangwa West, Gervatius Tshiguuo, said any surplus learners would be sent to other regions.

The South, which has previously not faced problems with placing learners, found itself in a different position this year.

Acting Regional Director for the South, August Mungunda, said the influx of learners, most of whom had accompanied their job-seeking parents, had resulted in an increase in the number of learners seeking school places.

"There was an influx because of the developments at Luderitz, Aussenkehr, and Rosh Pinah. At the moment the situation is manageable but we need to plan for more classrooms this year," he said.

Mungunda said the new Waterfront and developments at Namdeb's Elizabeth mine outside the harbour town resulted in the schools recording a record number of learners while the Kudu investment, Aussenkehr and Rosh Pinah contributed to more learners at the Hoeksteen Primary School at Rosh Pinah.

The Regional Director for Caprivi, Charles Sinvula, said three-quarters of the schools in his region had started with teaching on the first day already.

"We dealt with new applications last week and learning started in all earnest today. I was disappointed by the last results," Sinvula said.

Sourced from: allAfrica.com