RUNDU – Two Rundu schools, Jafet Haiyambo Senior Primary School (PS) and Hompa Sofia Mundjebwe Kanyetu Junior PS, last Thursday suspended classes due to poor sanitation. 

The schools share ablution facilities, which are in a non-functional state. 

It is not clear how long learners will miss school. 

Jafet Haiyambo Senior PS this year has 1 600 learners, while the latter has 1 500 learners. 

Combined, 3 100 learners use the current decayed, dysfunctional toilets and a combined staff complement of more than 80. 

“I am not authorised to speak to the media. The director has to give me permission first. 

I cannot comment,” said the principal of Jafet Haiyambo Senior PS, Josef Domingu Gideon. New Era made efforts to engage the region’s education director Christine Shilima, but her phone went unanswered. 

“I was informed by the senior primary school principal, Mr Gideon, to release learners at 10 am. However, instructions were not clear on whether we would send them back home tomorrow or what was next. It was not official,’’ said Ellipius Songora, the principal of Hompa Sofia Mundjebwe Kanyetu Junior PS. 

Kehemu Senior PS, as it was previously known, was built some 40 years ago with a small capacity. 

The school has always been Rundu’s top overcrowded school, which led to its split into two last year. 

However, that has not remedied its challenges, as they use the same facilities. 

The junior PS has been weaned off to an adjacent open space. 

Nine classrooms were donated by the Pupkewitz Foundation, with toilets for learners that are not operational. 

They are not connected to a sewer network or septic tank. 

“The main problem is the water pressure. The pressure is too low. It is unable to fill up toilets to flush. 

The toilet facilities are also too old, and constantly seek plumbing services,’’ said one concerned teacher, who preferred anonymity out of fear of victimisation. 

“All these years, the directorate of education’s planning department had the chance to advise the directorate of education to improve the school’s toilet facilities as the population grew. However, they never did. So, today, they can’t blame it on the low pressure of water. This is not a problem of water. It’s a capacity issue – the capacity that the toilets can hold. They could have identified it. They could have noticed that they would face a problem, as the school was receiving a high number of learners,’’ the teacher said. 

The teacher noted that even if they fix the water pressure, they will still have problems because the capacity is more than it was built for. 

The water pressure in households along the school is all fine. 

They always have running water, with no hiccups. 

However, the school toilets never get enough. 

The school has another issue with a septic tank, which is constantly full. 

The school is in a residential area. 

Learners have no bushes to run to. 

They relieve themselves along some corners. 

-jmuyamba@nepc.com.na