Africa-Press – Namibia. MORE than 4 000 pupils were removed from schools countrywide by their parents last year, while approximately 400 dropped out of school to take care of family members and loved ones, said education executive director Sanet Steenkamp.
Steenkamp was speaking yesterday at the first lady’s town hall meeting in Windhoek where the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the youth was discussed.
Earlier this year, The Namibian reported that more than 30 000 pupils did not return to school across the country during the gradual return to classes after the Covid-19 lockdown last year.
This is more than double the number reported in 2019 when more than 13 000 pupils dropped out. “That gives you insight into the huge knock this sector took,” Steenkamp said.
Before the pandemic, Steenkamp said the usual reasons for dropping out were long travel distances for pupils, and older children who struggle with the curriculum.
“We had to make an assessment to see what exactly was the impact. In South Africa, they lost more than 54% of the teaching year. This is almost the same in Namibia,” she added. To mitigate the time lost, the ministry decided to trim the curriculum and focus on the core concepts of each subject.
“[However], for the Grade 11 and the advanced level [Grade 12], we could not touch because the question papers were set two to three years in advance. They were quality controlled and set at international levels,” she added.
The ministry further extended the winter holiday and moved examination dates to November ending on 17 December, which will lead to teachers marking over the Christmas holidays and results released in February 2022.
Steenkamp said their data shows close to 4 000 pupils tested positive for Covid-19 last year. In January this year the education minister, Anna Nghipondonka, announced that 30 665 pupils could not be traced.
“The more than 24 000 [pupils] who dropped out in 2020 – they are people with dreams and desires. They want to break the cycle of poverty. They have names, identities and families. They are not a number. That is what drives us to get back to work and find solutions,” Steenkamp said.
Previously, The Namibian reported that 3 625 schoolgirls fell pregnant during 2020, double the 1 542 recorded in 2019. Omusati region recorded the highest number of schoolgirl pregnancies with 562, followed by Kavango West with 522 and neighbouring Kavango East with 520.
Last year, more than 3 323 schoolgirls fell pregnant during the Covid-19-imposed lockdown from March to July. Most of these girls did not return when schools reopened in September 2020, because of fear and stigma, thus abruptly cutting their school year short.
“It is heartbreaking for us to hear the stories. To hear the real impact that is on the ground,” Steenkamp said. FIRST FAMILY BANS UNVACCINATED GUESTS Meanwhile, first lady Monica Geingos says she and her husband, president Hage Geingob, have banned unvaccinated people from visiting their home.
“No one is welcome at our house who is not vaccinated. This is the decision we have made as a family. No one [who is unvaccinated] is welcome at our farm,” Geingos said. She said this at an event earlier this week in Windhoek.
