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Home / Fewer hostels compel Oshikoto learners to rent
Fewer hostels compel Oshikoto learners to rent
2018-01-22Staff Report 2 Obrein Simasiku Omuthiya-The education system in Oshikoto is living with a constant headache compounded by the lack of hostel facilities in the region, while renting among learners has become the norm. This situation has exposed learners to elements of prostitution, drug and alcohol abuse, which according to the Director of Education, Lameck Kafidi, adds to the failure rate in the region. Kafidi is adamant the situation will persist and he sees no immediate remedy to the issue. “We had a challenge in placing the Grade 11s, we however managed to enrol about 2,050 learners. The question now is where do these learners go? So, they are being forced to find an alternative of which is renting, and not most of them can afford to rent, hence this situation exposes them to other evil means to source money,” said the education director. “There is no definite solution to this, since most of the capital projects were put on hold as a result of the glitches of our economy, although the situation looks like it is improving. If things go well, it does not guarantee that the hostel issue will be tackled, because we might find ourselves backdating to three or four years to address the backlog of projects,” stated Kafidi, when queried how soon the situation is likely to be addressed. Thus, he said these are some of the issues that affect the region’s performance. Furthermore, Kafidi pointed out that Tsumeb schools were another challenge when it comes to placements as the number of learners is rising yearly. He however said that the situation does not apply to rural schools. In order to address the mounting pressure in Tsumeb, Kafidi, said they are planning on establishing a temporal school at Kuvikiland as they still wait for land from the municipality. 2018-01-22Staff Report 2
