ONGWEDIVA – Time lost due to flooding at some northern schools will be made up during school holidays and over weekends. 

According to Oshana’s senior education officer for planning and development, Fenny Mwiila, there will be shorter holidays and weekends for some teachers and learners.

“The learners will be taught during weekends or even during the holidays, just to make up for the days lost during the closure of the schools,” she said.

This arrangement will be implemented because learners have to finish their syllabus to catch up with others since the education system has no provision for home schooling.

Mwiila said out of 3 119 who were home due to floods, 1 836 have since resumed classes while 1 283 are still at home.

“Twelve schools were closed in the Oshana region. Although the water is subsiding, five schools are still completely closed,” she added.

She cautioned parents to continue escorting learners and waiting for them after school to help them cross the streams.

Parents should also advise school-going children not to play with floodwater to avoid unexpected deaths. 

The Oshana regional council announced that the water level is slowly subsiding in the region.

Schools in the Oshana, Omusati and Ohangwena regions have been completely or partially suspended due to flooding water streams in the regions. 

Southern Angola recently received good rains, which have not only filled up the water streams, but caused the Cuvelai River in Angola to rise and overflow into the water systems in northern Namibia, known as oshanas. 

A number of facilities, mostly rural schools, have been cut off. Thus, teachers and learners were unable to access them.

This has forced the ministry of education to suspend lessons at severely-flooded schools and suspend classes at schools that are surrounded by water streams.  

- vkaapanda@nepc.com.na