OSHAKATI – Oshana is grappling with dilapidated school infrastructure and over-crowdedness, especially in the urban schools, deputy director of education in Oshana Hilma Nuunyango-George revealed.
“We have nowhere to put our children, and we have the mandate to provide them with education – and that is why most of our classrooms have more than 40 learners per class,” she said.
Nuunyango-George made the remarks during a visit to the Oshakati Secondary School (OSS) on Tuesday.
She was accompanied by Oshana govenor Elia Irimari, who also took to the podium to motivate the teachers and learners of Oshakati to improve its school performance by at least 40% at ordinary (grade 11) and advanced subsidiary levels (formerly grade 12).
The school, during the last academic year, only attained a 20 and 30% pass rate, respectively.
Another challenge facing the region and OSS, in particular, is the abuse of alcohol and drugs.
Last year, the region suspended a number of learners, some of whom were caught red-handed using drugs and smoking cigarettes at schools.
The deputy director also touched on the indiscipline displayed by some learners on the school premises.
“I know there are good boys and girls among you, but there are those who want to break the rules. Imagine having visitors at the school but you are still waiting for the teachers to tell you to go to the hall,” said a concerned Nuunyango-George.
She appealed to learners to remain highly disciplined, focused on their schoolwork and desist from ill behaviour, such as jumping over the fence. Irimari urged learners to take their education seriously to excel in life and remain disciplined at all times.
“Ill-discipline does not pay off. It takes you to the streets. From today on, we want to see you disciplined, doing your work timely and coming to school on time,” he said.
The governor said he observed that some learners were dressed inappropriately within the school premises, as some learners were wearing hoodies and caps, which is a violation of the school rules.
Irimari will also be visiting the Andimba, Mweshipandeka and Ongwediva secondary schools.