Despite the endless challenges plaguing most public schools, including limited resources and bulging learner numbers per teacher, many parents have opted their children out of expensive private schools to State schools.
The influx into public schools in recent years was confirmed by education executive director Sanet Steenkamp last week. “We are informed many principals face a lot of applications, and sometimes not applications in a timely fashion during the admission period from parents who want to take their children from private schools to public schools,” Steenkamp mentioned.
Often, she said, parents prefer their children to be enrolled into the best-performing public schools.
“Parents have a choice of where they want to take their kids. And it is so that when they take their children from private schools, we find that parents are insisting to have their kids in public schools with excellence. The question remains, are the parents prepared to give the same resources, time and energy equally as they have done at a private school? If the answer is yes, I think schools will not be under such tremendous strain,” she reacted.
Private high schools in Windhoek charge up to N$7 500 per month per child, while government schools plead with parents to make a contribution of around N$5 000 per year and buy stationery and other study aids if they can. Steenkamp said if the school cannot accommodate learners – be it from private or public schools – parents should accept that their children will be accepted at any other school with space.
“We want parents to have respect for the public education system and procedures that are in place just like they committed and gave full support to private schools,” Steenkamp cautioned.
One parent narrated that although private schools offer other endless benefits in terms of learning and teaching, public schools also have an advantage because education is largely offered freely by the government.
“Life has become so expensive that I can’t afford to fork out N$2 300 per month for my child’s education at a private school. I have bills such as housing and a car to pay off. That is why I decided to remove my child from a private school to a public school. I am now saving a lot. It’s the best decision I have ever made because my child is still performing well at a public school. We have public schools that often outpace private schools,” said a mother of three, who preferred anonymity.
Another parent who took his child from a private primary school to a government school, said the main reason is the high cost of living. “We are cutting costs but not compromising on the child’s education. As parents, we ensure we supervise and guide them so we don’t leave all responsibilities to the teachers. Sometimes, it’s the distance. If there is a school near my house, why should I drive to a private school that is far when she can just walk to school near home? I am saving N$2 000 monthly that I used to pay for a private school,” the father of two said.
New Era engaged some schools in Windhoek on the situation of parents moving their children from private schools to public institutions. One such school is Windhoek High School (WHS), which received a total of 71 new learners that migrated from private schools this year alone.
WHS public relations officer Juanita Birch revealed that the majority (52) of learners from private schools sought placement in grade eight, while 10 applications were for grade nine.
She said grade 10 saw four applications, grade 11 received two learners and grade 12 advanced subsidiary (AS) level received three applicants from private schools.
According to her, the school does not have any spaces available to accommodate more learners from grades eight to 12.
Birch indicated the institution has a strict application process. “We receive hundreds of applications every year. A group of highly qualified teachers, managers and board members will then select 320 learners. We are a very diverse school, and we believe every child needs to have the opportunity to make the best of the life they have. The selection process is extremely important to us, and we look at all aspects before we do the selection,” Birch explained. WHS has a maximum of 40 learners per classroom. The high school strives to cultivate personal potential at every opportunity to help all students develop their full potential on a personal, academic, sports and cultural level. WHS is renowned as a sports powerhouse and maintains a high pass rate in matriculation exams.
Meanwhile, Jan Mohr Secondary School principal Lukas Hashiti noted the number of learners looking for spaces in government schools from private schools has increased significantly.
“Most parents are looking for grades nine and 10. We have received around 20 applications for different grades. Our school is full to capacity in all grades. We even have grades nine and 10 classes that have more than 45 learners in a class because of learners repeating in those grades,” Hashiti said.
He stated the admission committee looks at the available spaces at the beginning of the year and the need behind the application to decide on admission.
Hashiti pondered discipline and parental engagement as well as participation in sport and cultural activities are key to performance.
The teacher-learner ratio in a class is currently 1:45 at Jan Mohr.
St Paul’s College bursar, Susan Nganjone said the institute normally has a small number of students who leave their school each year for various reasons, including finances, work relocation, and family matters. “Numbers have slightly increased over the past three years but they remain small. Our experience is that children who leave St Paul’s go to a mix of private or State schools. It does differ from case to case. In terms of the staff-to-student ratio, like many statistics, there are different ways to look at this. Perhaps the most effective is that our maximum class size is 27 students but for specialist subjects, this can be much lower. The smallest class has three students but this is exceptional,” Nganjone noted.
Parents pay well over N$70 000 per year per learner at St Paul’s and St George’s.
Meanwhile, StGeorge’s Diocesan school executive head, Berdine Beukes confirmed each year, there are a couple of families leaving the institution due to financial circumstances.
“We have noticed for a while now that parents value and trust private schooling more, thus the big influx of students from State schools over the past 10 years, especially at our college. St George’s’ biggest intake is in grade RR (four-year-olds), grade one and grade eight,” Beukes said.
According to her, only five learners from the high school and 18 from the primary school did not return this year.
This she said is mostly because families relocated and a few due to affordability.
The school has 11 students per teacher with a maximum of 25 students per class, while for primary level is 16 students per teacher with a maximum of 25 students per class.
She said they have well-qualified teachers who fit the profile of a St George’s teacher.
“Excellence in all aspects. We don’t compromise standards. We focus on parent, teacher and school relationships together with clear communication channels,” she said. - anakale@nepc.com.na