Africa-Press – Namibia.
A storm is brewing at the Auas Primary School in the heart of Katutura, where disgruntled parents and community members and the school’s management are at loggerheads. It is alleged that the staff and principal are plotting to remove the Khoekhoegowab (KKG) language from the school. At the centre of the brouhaha is principal Toini Nauyoma, the alleged orchestrator-in-chief of the move.
However, pouring cold water on the claims, education minister Sanet Steenkamp said they are devoid of any truth.
She said there will never be any deliberate attempts to suppress a language in Namibia, and emphasised that no language is superior to another.
The minister said this while addressing concerns regarding the alleged removal of a Khoekhoegowab language class and the introduction of an Oshikwanyama language class at the school.
Steenkamp’s remarks followed complaints from concerned parents, who alleged that school principal Nauyoma intended to discontinue the teaching of Khoekhoegowab, reportedly spoken by the majority of pupils at the school.
During her visit to the school, the politician urged calm, and pledged to thoroughly investigate the matter.
“Since 2023, there have been more than four meetings with the school board on the preservation of the language. There has been no removal of KhoeKhoegowab from the Auas Primary School,” she added.
The minister noted that it is important to understand that “we will not put one language above the other. As long as there are learners, we will find the teachers, and we will find the classrooms.”
A preliminary investigation was done, and an independent task team will be dispatched to investigate the school on the matter.
In a petition handed over to the ministry on the same day, activist Shaun Gariseb highlighted that a State school must admit learners and serve their educational requirements without discriminating in any way, as stipulated in the Basic Education Act.
Subject to this Act, the national admission policy must be in line with inclusivity, accessibility, equity and equality.
“Indigenous language is integral to the development of self-concept and self-awareness. It not only serves as a tool for transmitting information, but also shapes ideas about oneself and others, reflecting social, cultural and political contexts. Identity formation is a complex and multifaceted process which depends on many factors, including language,” he underscored.
Background
There is general outrage over the alleged deletion of the KhoeKhoegowab language across the country.
The Auas Primary School is in Damara location in Katutura, an area where most people speak Khoekhoegowab.
This move is similar to what Nauyoma reportedly did at Groot Aub Primary School, where she also removed Khoekhoegowab.
There are claims that this has been done without following due process.
Gariseb asserts that Nauyoma referred to children of Damara/Nama descent as useless and without a future.
It was reported that since 2018, the Khoekhoegowab stream has only had acting teachers, while the head of department positions are frozen.
“We raised our concerns publicly. The principal has maintained that nothing will happen to our concerns and that we will make noise, and this too will disappear. As if that was not enough, these people have advertised three posts of Oshikwanyama teachers in the same week, despite our concerns. This demonstrates the intentional and systematic addition of other languages at the expense of Khoekhoegowab,” he stressed. The activist stated that some teachers are being victimised, polarised and work under fear, especially when they question the powers that be at the school.
Other surfacing allegations include the gross mismanagement of funds, unnecessary renovations of the office, and unaccounted-for expenditure at the school.
“This is a systematic way of making people unemployed because teachers of KKG become unemployed and frustrated they can’t become HoD because they have a trick of bringing in their people by freezing the KKG HoD post and appointing their candidates,” he added.
“It is not surprising that the minister is defending this; she has been silent for the past five years,” Gariseb said. The protesters also demanded the protection of minority languages and teachers of minority languages from victimisation, stagnation and systematic unemployment.
“Our Khoekhoegowab cannot be wiped out by a single person or group of people with personal agendas. Our future generations will suffer the worst. A child’s first language is almost always the language spoken at home.
Language is the embodiment of culture, which is what makes up a person’s identity,” the petition reads.
However, Steenkamp maintained that every school caters to the children in their community.
She said there are 500 Afrikaans-speaking children at Auas Primary School and 236 Khoe-Khoegowab-speaking learners, while 148 are Oshikwanyama-speaking.
“We make provision for all the children. So, please do not use words such as removal because it’s incorrect,” she responded.
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