Omitara
Some learners at Otjivero Primary School in Omitara say they do not attend afternoon classes due to home chores they have to do.
Principal Rebecca Heita says they introduced afternoon classes to help learners who are struggling in different subjects, but some learners refuse to attend. “Not all learners attend these classes and sometimes when we go looking for them we don’t find them at their houses and their parents don’t know where they are, or they tell us that children are at the farms,” she explained.
Paulina Gaweses, a learner at Otjivero, says she attends the afternoon classes, but some of her friends do not attend, because they have many home chores to do after school. “They have to take care of their young siblings, because their parents are at work or drinking alcohol,” says Gaweses.
“Some are too hungry to attend classes, because they don’t have lunch after school and some just don’t want to attend the afternoon classes,” says Aletta Mbambo, a learner at Otjivero.
Mbambo adds that they attend these classes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and they cover three subjects a day. “We get a chance to ask questions and the teachers help us with what we don’t understand,” she says.