RUNDU – Katjinakatji Senior Secondary School in the Kavango West Region is struggling with a severe shortage of desks and chairs.
As a result, many learners are forced to sit on broken chairs propped up with bricks, use bricks as desks, sit on old cupboards, stand throughout the school day, or kneel and sit on bare floors.
Teachers at the school are also frustrated, as they themselves lack proper desks and chairs to sit on.
A teacher at the school, Nietz Mnangagwa, told this agency on Thursday that the situation is particularly dire for learners from grades 1 to 8. “The upper grades are in a slightly better position. At least they have desks, chairs and textbooks which the lower grades completely lack,” he said.
Mnangagwa explained that the shortage of desks and chairs has worsened this year. He said although the school principal only assumed his position in July, he is already fully cognisant of the problem.
The teacher also expressed concern about the impact on the staff, noting that some teachers suffer from health issues, yet are forced to stand and teach all day due to the lack of seating.
“For learners, this makes it difficult to take notes, concentrate, and participate effectively in lessons,” he emphasised.
He added that the number of learners increases each year, along with the demand for adequate school furniture.
“This is incredibly frustrating. We’re forced to teach learners while standing in a circle for the entire day, and despite all this, these learners are still expected to perform well,” he said.
Approached for comment, the principal, Sebedius Sihungu, confirmed the serious shortage of desks and chairs. He explained that about a month ago, the Kavango West Regional Council entered into a public-private partnership with an unnamed company to repair broken furniture from schools across the region.
As part of this initiative, the school surrendered approximately 797 broken chair frames for repair in Mpungu.
According to Sihungu, the school expects to receive 797 repaired chairs and 149 desks within the next two weeks. “The delivery was supposed to happen earlier, but there were transport-related delays,” he said.
-Nampa