ONGWEDIVA - The Ehafo Combined School in the Endola constituency is allowing learners to stay in the school camp to prepare for the upcoming November/December final exams.
This school in the Ohangwena region is currently accommodating 32 grade nine learners and 31 grade 10 learners, but only those who have managed to pay a once-off fee of N$650.
School principal Nabot Kondjeni Shopati said the initiative came up as they noticed that most learners do not have time to study when they are home, and that most of the boys are not performing well.
“Some parents have noticed that the boys come home around 04h00 from cuca shops. They just come home and bathe, and around 10h00, the person is already sleeping in class,” he stressed.
Shopati said the learners have an everyday routine that they follow, as they wake up at 04h00 to study for an hour and 30 minutes. At 05h30 they bathe, and have breakfast at 06h00. At 07h30, they are expected to be ready for the exams. If they are not writing on the day, they will have soft porridge at 10h00, lunch at 13h00, supper at 18h00 and evening study from 19h00 until 22h00.
“This is a good programme. It is a challenge at times in a way that as teachers, we have a role to play. Some teachers sleep at school to make sure that they attend to the learners and mind you, some teachers are mothers or married. So, these are a lot of challenges at once,” he continued.
Shopati maintained that bringing the grade nines to the camp was also a great initiative because they are writing a semi-external national examination in six subjects. He thus wants them to have enough time to study.
“For grade 10, it is just a preparation for grade 11, since we will be having grade 11 next year. So basically, we are preparing the grade 10s to master their studying skills and to accumulate enough knowledge to take along to grade 11,” he said.
When asked about the once-off fee, Shopati told New Era that they are aware that some learners cannot afford this fee, and that some teachers have taken the initiative to pay the camp fee of some learners.
“We do not ask them to bring anything else besides the N$650, just their own luggage and own mattresses. We cannot let other learners stay for free because it would not be fair on those who paid,” said the school principal.
The grade 10s moved into the camp earlier last week, while the grade nines moved in last week Friday.
Learners will stay at the camp until the end of their exams.