Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture needs around N$2,5 billion to build 4 479 classrooms.
This was revealed by minister of education, arts and culture Anna Nghipondoka in the National Assembly last week. Nghipondoka said this was found after the ministry did an infrastructural audit through its accelerated infrastructure development plan.
The country currently has 1 947 schools catering for 822 574 pupils. The Omaheke and //Kharas regions remain among those with the lowest number of schools and pupils.
The Omaheke region accommodates some 25 884 pupils in 47 schools, while the //Kharas region accommodates around 24 014 pupils in 57 schools. Enrolment at pre-primary and Grade 1 level has increased by 11%.
These rates remain constant for grades 2 to 4, and continuously decline as pupils move to higher grades, with only 3% of pupils enrolled in Grade 12. Earlier this year, The Namibian reported that some 353 classrooms are needed in the Erongo, Zambezi and //Kharas regions, while 700 pupils are still to be placed in the Omusati region.
Zambezi regional education director Josty Kawana at the time said the region needed about 246 additional classrooms to address the lack of infrastructure in the region.
Erongo regional education director Erenfriede Stephanus says while they need about 36 additional classrooms, they are also concerned over the number of parents still waiting to place their children at schools.
Executive director of education, arts and culture Sanet Steenkamp recently said most of their budget goes to the salaries of 40 000 staff members, while the ministry spends almost half a billion dollars on hostels catering for 65 000 pupils.
The ministry also aims to provide more training for Grade 12 teachers on its Advanced Subsidiary level. NEW SCHOOLS On the other hand, the ministry has constructed 14 schools countrywide between 2014 and 2021at a cost of N$749 million dollars.
Nghipondoka said the ministry’s development budget is N$398 million, which is not enough to meet the country’s needs. “It is worth mentioning that the development budget has been decreasing for the past three years, thus making it difficult for the ministry to meet its infrastructural needs,” she said.
She said the ministry has completed four “major” renovations at existing school. These renovations, which were done between 2015 and 2021, cost N$ 368 million, Nghipondoka said. PROGRESS REPORT The ministry has renovated 552 schools nationwide.
According to a progress report seen by The Namibian, the ministry was allocated N$800 million to ensure schools in Namibia are in compliance with all Covid-19 health regulations.
“Adequate health and sanitation facilities need to be enhanced to ensure a safe learning environment for all the teachers, learners and institutional workers,” the report stated.
The report, dated 29 July 2021, details that a total of 251 ablution facilities were identified for renovation and 305 to be newly constructed at schools countrywide.
The renovation of ablution facilities was done at 37 schools in the Omusati region, 32 in //Kharas and 30 in the Kunene region, while other regions needed construction.
In the Zambezi region, 32 facilities were constructed, 43 in the Oshikoto region, 37 in Ohangwena and 30 in Kavango East region. Some 78 schools are currently undergoing renovations and construction in the Erongo, Kavango East, Khomas, Omusati, Oshana and Zambezi regions.
Out of the 552 schools which were renovated countrywide, the Namibia Training Authority was responsible for the construction of 15 ablution facilities and renovation of 11 schools.
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