{"id":100590,"date":"2026-04-09T12:51:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T12:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/child-headed-households-drive-absenteeism-at-ncamagoro"},"modified":"2026-04-09T12:57:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T12:57:40","slug":"child-headed-households-drive-absenteeism-at-ncamagoro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/child-headed-households-drive-absenteeism-at-ncamagoro","title":{"rendered":"Child-Headed Households Drive Absenteeism at Ncamagoro"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>Sawi Hausiku<\/b><\/p>\n

NCAMAGORO \u2013 Ncamagoro Combined School in the Kavango West region has identified poor attendance and learner indiscipline as persistent challenges, with the growing number of children living in child-headed households emerging as a key factor.<\/p>\n

In a recent interview with Nampa, the principal of the school, Mukuve Sikongo, painted a picture of a community caught between survival and education.<\/p>\n

He said many parents leave their homes in remote villages so their children can attend school, setting up makeshift shelters nearby.<\/p>\n

\u201cParents come from remote rural areas so their children can access education, but they often return to their homesteads out of fear of losing their mahangu fields,\u201d Sikongo explained.<\/p>\n

He said school attendance suffers, and discipline becomes difficult to maintain. On some days, especially Fridays, attendance worsens as children leave in search of food.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese learners sometimes miss school because they have to find ways to survive,\u201d Sikongo said.<\/p>\n

He further said the school is also grappling with a high rate of teenage pregnancies, recording 15 cases last year alone, a reflection of the vulnerabilities faced by learners growing up without consistent parental guidance.<\/p>\n

Distance is another barrier, with some learners walking between 10 and 15 kilometres every day from surrounding villages such as Mbeyo, arriving at school already exhausted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe long distances create a serious obstacle. Learners are often fatigued, their concentration is affected, and absenteeism increases, especially during harsh weather conditions,\u201d Sikongo added.<\/p>\n

He said for some learners in these circumstances it is not just about the classroom, but a daily fight against hunger, distance, and a responsibility far beyond their years.<\/p>\n

Education Director in the Kavango West region, Pontianus Musore said child-headed households in his region are amongst others caused by poverty and unemployment.<\/p>\n

\u201cNumerous families in Kavango West experience poverty and they are unable to provide for the children. As a result, children have to fend for themselves,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Another reason for widespread child-headed households is parents relocating for employment, as well as parental demise, among many reasons.<\/p>\n

Musore said the government has intervened by providing social grants and financial support, school support programmes, as well as community and leadership involvement.<\/p>\n

He noted that the ministry continues to encourage regional leadership to identify and support child-headed households to ensure children are not living alone and without care.<\/p>\n

\u201cGovernment and its partners also run mobile health outreach and nutrition programmes which reach vulnerable children in remote areas,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Another intervention Musore mentioned is the drought relief and food assistance programme that targets vulnerable households.<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Namibia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. Sawi Hausiku NCAMAGORO \u2013 Ncamagoro Combined School in the Kavango West region has identified poor attendance and learner indiscipline as persistent challenges, with the growing number of children living in child-headed households emerging as a key factor. In a recent interview with Nampa, the principal of the school, Mukuve Sikongo, painted a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":100588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,5],"tags":[233],"class_list":["post-100590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-economy","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\nChild-Headed Households Drive Absenteeism at Ncamagoro - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sawi Hausiku NCAMAGORO \u2013 Ncamagoro Combined School in the Kavango West region has identified poor attendance and ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/child-headed-households-drive-absenteeism-at-ncamagoro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Child-Headed Households Drive Absenteeism at Ncamagoro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sawi Hausiku NCAMAGORO \u2013 Ncamagoro Combined School in the Kavango West region has identified poor attendance and ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/child-headed-households-drive-absenteeism-at-ncamagoro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Namibia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-09T12:51:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-09T12:57:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2026\/04\/sm_1775726755.174919.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1179\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"671\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/child-headed-households-drive-absenteeism-at-ncamagoro#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/child-headed-households-drive-absenteeism-at-ncamagoro\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Child-Headed Households Drive Absenteeism at Ncamagoro\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-09T12:51:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-09T12:57:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/child-headed-households-drive-absenteeism-at-ncamagoro\"},\"wordCount\":436,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/child-headed-households-drive-absenteeism-at-ncamagoro#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2026\/04\/sm_1775726755.174919.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"namibia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\",\"economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/child-headed-households-drive-absenteeism-at-ncamagoro#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/child-headed-households-drive-absenteeism-at-ncamagoro\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/child-headed-households-drive-absenteeism-at-ncamagoro\",\"name\":\"Child-Headed Households Drive Absenteeism at Ncamagoro - 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