Windhoek
Children who live at the Okondaunue location in Opuwo no longer have to endure harsh conditions while attending school following the handing over of three classrooms to learners and teachers last week.
The learners have been having classes in the open since January this year after it was observed that many children in Okondaunue location were not going to school.
The councillor of the Opuwo constituency, Kazeongere Tjeundo, told New Era in a telephonic interview on Tuesday that the 245 children are now being taught in the comfort of decent classrooms.
For now, the classrooms will be an extension of Opuwo Primary School, Tjeundo added. There is only one primary school in Opuwo.
“In January this year, we noticed that a high number of children from Okondaunue suburb were not going to school,” said Tjeundo. He added that the issue was brought to the the attention of the Kunene Directorate of Education, who took money out of their coffers to erect the three classrooms and a storeroom.
Tjeundo is impressed with the pace of construction of the three classrooms. “I’m happy that our children will no longer have to put up with the harsh weather conditions, especially now that it is winter. It was not planned. The money came straight from the coffers of the directorate of education in the Kunene Region,” Tjeundo added.
He also said construction of the classrooms started in February.
The children at the school are from a very poor backgrounds, Tjeundo added. “Their parents are poor and some of them are old people,” he said, hence the reluctance to take children to school.
“Parents should send their children to school and make sure they are progressing,” was the message Tjeundo had for the parents when the classrooms were officially opened last week.
As of next year, the classrooms will be turned into a fully operational primary school, said Tjeundo.