Zambezi regional governor Lawrence Sampofu said schools in his region are faced with shortages of school furniture and need approximately 4 524 chairs and desks across all grades, and 922 hostel beds and mattresses. 

The governor revealed this during his state of the region address (SORA) delivered recently and availed to Nampa on Monday.

Sampofu said the region also needs additional classrooms as there are currently 3 563 enrolled Grade 10 learners against 64 classrooms, resulting in an average of 41 learners per classroom.

“Town schools like Caprivi Secondary School has a total of 570 learners in Grade 10 and the class size ranges from 58-61 learners and lack of classrooms has resulted in the erection of tents at some schools,” he said.

He added that this problem also led to the platoon system, affecting curriculum attainment as some periods are cut shorter to accommodate the afternoon classes.

 Sampofu reported that the Zambezi Education Directorate was allocated over N$2 million for renovations and over N$4 million for the construction of basic education facilities for the 2019/20 financial year.

The region also received N$2.7 million from the European Union for the construction of pre-primary classrooms and to date, the directorate has constructed 14 classrooms in four schools and these will benefit a total of 740 learners.

The governor further said the education directorate is faced with other challenges such as the absence of a special school and hostel, noting the region has registered 1 989 learners with impairment but there is no special school for them.

“Shortage of textbooks and some textbooks for senior secondary grades such as building studies, metalwork and welding as well as woodwork are not listed in the Namibian catalogue and the insufficient teacher accommodation resulting in teachers commuting over long distances are challenges faced by the directorate,” added Sampofu. He said the lack of water at schools; alcohol and substance abuse by teachers and learners, as well as lack of parental support in the education of their learners remain big challenges for the region.

Sampofu said schools in Zambezi further need additional qualified teachers with a strong knowledge base in subjects at National Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary Level.

At least 87% of teachers who teach Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry are unqualified while 32% of English teachers and 79% of Silozi teachers are unqualified. For Agricultural Science, 54% of teachers are unqualified, while 43% of Geography and 29% of Biology teachers are also unqualified. 

– Nampa