Lahja Nashuuta 

Learners at Etanga Primary School in the Kunene region continue to sleep in classrooms for the past 11 years, while some are sleeping in overcrowded, unsafe dormitories, without proper beds, sanitation, or adequate food. 

This is according to a report by the National Council Standing Committee on Education, Science, ICT, and Youth Development, tabled in parliament last week. 

The report is based on follow-up visits conducted in August to schools and community hostels in Kunene, Oshikoto, Ohangwena, Kavango West, Zambezi, and Otjozondjupa. 

According to the report, many hostels were overcrowded, with too few beds and mattresses, forcing learners to share sleeping spaces. 

The committee reported that “We found learners sleeping in overcrowded, unsafe dormitories, some in classrooms, without proper beds, sanitation, or adequate food. In 2025, when we returned to assess progress, the reality was both disappointing and distressing: little had changed.” 

The committee said the visits aimed to assess the condition of community hostels in selected schools. It expressed concern over the practice of using classrooms for dual purposes, noting that “classrooms are used for learning during the day and turned into sleeping rooms at night,” which poses serious risks to learners. 

During school visits, the committee said they found out that most schools do not have electricity, running water, or network coverage. 

The committee highlighted water shortage as one of the biggest problems, stating that the hostel still depends on a bucket toilet system because underground water is very low and depend on the nearby village, about three to five kilometres away. 

Decongestion plans 

The committee reported that government’s plan to construct a hostel at KM Maundu in the Kunene region is underway. The hostel, which is still under construction, will accommodate learners from Etanga. 

The school’s kitchen at KM Maundu remains temporary and made from old corrugated iron, which the committee said is unsafe for food preparation. 

The committee further indicated that learners from vulnerable and marginalised communities, particularly the San, continue to live in poor conditions. Hostels such as Kasivi, Aunns, and Berg-Aukhas remain in a bad state despite earlier promises to fix them. 

The school feeding programme also remains inadequate, with some l earners eating only porridge two or three times a day, and others having no feeding programme at all. The committee suggested expanding the programme to include secondary schools. 

The committee also highlighted the insufficient meal subsidy. 

“The daily meal subsidy of N$22 per learner per day has not changed since 2008. This amount is too small to buy enough food, especially in remote areas where prices are high,” the report reads. 

The Ministry of Education, Innovation, Sport, Arts, and Culture (MEISAC) was quoted in the report to have admitted that the feeding programme depends heavily on government funding and requested more support from parents and communities. 

The committee urged the ministry to build proper classrooms and hostels and to stop using temporary structures. 

“Classrooms should not be used as hostels because this makes learning difficult and unsafe,” the committee advised. 

-lnashuuta@nepc.com.na