Ncamagoro
Ncamagoro Combined School, which is situated 45 kilometres west of Rundu along the Rundu-Grootfontein road, has been without water for the past three weeks, a situation that has been described as unbearable by learners and teachers who have to walk quite some distance to nearby bushes to relieve themselves when nature calls.
New Era has been reliably informed by concerned teachers and community members that for the past three weeks there has been no water at the school or at the teachers’ houses.
“We have tried contacting everyone but still there is no solution. Our senior regional officers know the situation we are in. Learners and teachers have to leave class to go look for bushes to relieve themselves,” said one teacher who asked not to be identified as teachers are not permitted to speak to the media.
“But we can’t keep quiet, this situation is not convenient, as it also leads to learners missing lessons. The ministry is aware of this but no solution is availed,” the teacher said.
Another teacher said that since 2014 they have had to declare a water crisis at the school many times. The Namibian Defence Force (NDF) in Rundu sometimes brought them water but this time around no one is helping.
Ncamagoro Combined School has 790 learners and has classes from pre-primary level to grade 10, with over 30 teachers. The school has flushing toilets for learners as well as for teachers but the facilities have been locked due to the water shortage.
“There seems to be a problem with the pipes from the community borehole. Maybe the pipes are old or the pressure from the community borehole is too low to pump water here,” said one teacher.
New Era tried getting comment from the Ministry of Education as well as the Directorate of Rural Water Supply in Kavango West Region, but was not successful.