ONGWEDIVA – Oshikoto education director Aletta Eises has cautioned schools in her region to refrain from charging school development and registration fees.
“I received complaints that schools are engaging in this unlawful practice. This is a warning to schools to refrain from this particular action,” she said.
Eises has also advised parents to refuse to pay.
Parents have been complaining through radio call-in programmes that they are being charged N$100 to N$150 for registering their children at new schools.
“We are told education is free. Can the government explain to us the free education if they are draining money from us every time school begins? It is not right,” a parent stressed.
The director further maintained that Oshikoto is not facing challenges when it comes to the admission of learners in various grades.
According to her, 72 377 learners applied last year for placements, and they have all been admitted. Out of these learners, 4 336 learners applied for grade 10.
In contrast to Oshikoto, a number of parents in other regions are still queuing up, some hopping from one school to another in search of places for their children.
Hundreds of prospective learners hoping to start pre-primary, primary or high school have not yet found a place as education authorities work around the clock to find space.
Speaking to New Era on Wednesday, Ehenye Primary School principal in the Oshana region, Nyanyukweni Shaanika, said he sent back some parents since they are busy with the placements of the learners that have already applied, and will only be starting with the late admissions next week.
A teacher at Ehenye Primary School confirmed that pre-primary and grade one classes are already full to capacity.
“We have already enrolled the said grades in 2022. There are still more learners who need to be placed.
We may establish a few spaces if some of the enrolled learners fail to pitch by next week,” the teacher said.
She attributed the high number of learners needing space to parents applying for placement at various schools for a single child, and in so doing, the school may not have an accurate picture in the first week.
The exact number of learners who are enrolled will only be known after the 17th day of the 2023 academic year.
“This is so because schools will then have stable enrolment statistics since not all learners report for school on the first day due to various reasons, such as transport arrangements from their places of origin,” she explained.
She said some families relocate due to various reasons, some children may get admission at multiple schools, and the parent has to choose one.
Over the years, parents whose children need places normally endure hardship, as some sleep in queues in the cold and in the rain to secure places for their children.