Nkurenkuru
Kavango West Regional Governor Sirkka Ausiku has appealed to the Ministry of Education to avail more funds for infrastructure development in the region. She says infrastructural development will address the needs of the region, especially in education where there are serious shortcomings, such as a lack of classrooms.
Ausiku said this during an interview with New Era last Thursday wherein she responded to questions regarding the situation whereby learners are taught in tents.
An unspecified number of learners from various schools in Kavango West Region face severe hardships and risks, including being bitten by snakes that slither around in the tents used in lieu of actual classrooms.
“As a new region they must allocate more funds and resources to this region. We are probably the only region which has learners being taught in tents in town. What image is that creating?
“We have a lot of work to do, but the funds are not there. We also need other infrastructure, but classrooms must be a priority,” Ausiku said.
The under-resourced region was among the poorest performers in the last year’s Grade 10 and 12 examination results.
“Teachers want to teach better, but the resources and facilities are lacking, or not there at all. How do learners learn in a tent that is under threat of being blown away by the wind, or submerged in rain and infested with snakes?” Ausiku asked.
“The ministry of education must take up its role to build schools and hostels in the region, starting at Nkurenkuru. Make sure this message is clear and heard by the relevant offices,” she said.
“When the minister visited us last year she promised as a matter of urgency that they will build a fully-fledged secondary school in Nkurenkuru with hostel facilities.
“So, if we can have those learners from Nkurenkuru Combined School transferred to the new school then the primary level of the school can have space enough to accommodate more learners in class, as these schools in Nkurenkuru are overcrowded,” the Kavango West governor said.
She added that the town of Nkurenkuru needs a secondary school to relieve the pressure on the combined schools in the town, so that the combined schools can concentrate on primary education.
“We really need support from the ministry of education. The current situation is really not called for, especially now that we want to develop our region, which is extremely rural,” Ausiku said.
After visiting several schools, New Era also visited Kulisuka Junior Primary School which has made use of five makeshift tents ever since it was established last year, after the community asked the Kavango West governor to bring schools closer to them, as learners previously had to walk long distances to attend school.
Some of the learners had to walk more than five kilometres to the nearest school and it was felt this is unsafe, specifically for Grade 1 learners, resulting in the erection of a number of tents as makeshift classrooms.