Nuusita Ashipala
Ongwediva-The chairperson of the Omusati Regional Council Modestus Amutse said the region is aware of the strenuous conditions in which teachers operate and was doing its best to address their plight.
Speaking at a principal and inspectors’ meeting on Thursday, Amutse announced that the region has commenced with putting up access roads to schools which are usually cut off by floods during the rainy season.
“We know some of you start to feel uncomfortable when it rains, but as a region we are doing the best we can with the limited resources to ensure you provide quality education to learners,” said Amutse.
Close to 67 schools in Omusati region were last year forced to close as a result of the flooding, leaving more than 23,000 learners out of school while the floodwater subsided.
In addition, Amutse said the region is also working tirelessly to ensure that all the schools in the region are electrified.
Also speaking at the same occasion, the Deputy Minister of Education, Arts and Culture, Ester Anna Nghipondoka, alluded that the ministry is striving with the meagre resources at its disposal to minimise the sometimes deplorable circumstances that both teachers and learners face.
Nghipondoka urged the principals to identify “leakages” where resources go to waste, adding that it is high time that every leader ensures the efficient use of resources at their disposal.
“On many occasions we cry about a lack of resources but we fail to identify leakages in the system … Let us therefore be encouraged in the face of difficulty never to allow ourselves to be swallowed up by the many impediments that we may have no control over,” said Nghipondoka.
The meeting was organised to take stock of the successes and shortcomings to enable managers to strategically plan for the current academic year.