N$102m renovations completed at Kavango East school
One of region’s oldest schools gets a makeover
Linus Shashipapo Secondary School was a beneficiary of an African Development Bank project.
The long-awaited major renovations to one of the oldest schools in the Kavango East Region have been completed - to the tune of N$102 million.
Contractor China Jiangxi International (Namibia) last week handed over Linus Shashipapo Secondary School’s renovated and newly constructed infrastructure to the education ministry after construction started two years ago.
The event was graced by education minister Anna Nghipondoka, who said the plight of renovating the school started back in 2004, with the infrastructure deteriorating as the years went by.
When Namibian Sun visited the school in 2019, classrooms roofs had been blown off by the wind, the hostel blocks were not fit for occupation and the buildings were on the verge of collapse.
However, those eyesore moments are history as the school now looks brand new, all thanks to government having secured a N$1 billion loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB), which saw the secondary school being one of the beneficiaries of the bank’s Education and Training Quality Improvement Project.
New leaf
Nghipondoka said the N$102 million catered for three new hostel blocks, three new classrooms, one new science laboratory, five new storerooms, one new administration block, two new ablution blocks, a new kitchen and dining hall, one new multipurpose hall, matron’s quarters with a sickbay and childcare, teachers’ accommodation, new kitchen staff accommodation, one new laundry block, one new service block and a new guard house.
Further, 12 classrooms, 16 hostel blocks, three teachers’ houses and two storerooms were also renovated, she said.
The minister used the opportunity to thank stakeholders such as AfDB for their support towards the education fraternity.
“The collaboration with development partners like AfDB, private entities and individuals alike is profoundly encouraged by the ministry through its Friends of Education in Namibia Special Initiative.”
Education needs
Meanwhile, Nghipondoka also shed some light on the challenges the ministry faces. For effective and quality education in the country, a total of 4 479 classrooms, 1 176 hostel blocks, 2 406 teachers’ houses, 1 075 ablution blocks, 10 childhood learning development centres and 11 public libraries and record centres are needed, she said.
She further pointed out that due to a lack of resources, it will not be possible to construct all these at once, but added that it will be possible if all stakeholders assist the government.
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Contractor China Jiangxi International (Namibia) last week handed over Linus Shashipapo Secondary School’s renovated and newly constructed infrastructure to the education ministry after construction started two years ago.
The event was graced by education minister Anna Nghipondoka, who said the plight of renovating the school started back in 2004, with the infrastructure deteriorating as the years went by.
When Namibian Sun visited the school in 2019, classrooms roofs had been blown off by the wind, the hostel blocks were not fit for occupation and the buildings were on the verge of collapse.
However, those eyesore moments are history as the school now looks brand new, all thanks to government having secured a N$1 billion loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB), which saw the secondary school being one of the beneficiaries of the bank’s Education and Training Quality Improvement Project.
New leaf
Nghipondoka said the N$102 million catered for three new hostel blocks, three new classrooms, one new science laboratory, five new storerooms, one new administration block, two new ablution blocks, a new kitchen and dining hall, one new multipurpose hall, matron’s quarters with a sickbay and childcare, teachers’ accommodation, new kitchen staff accommodation, one new laundry block, one new service block and a new guard house.
Further, 12 classrooms, 16 hostel blocks, three teachers’ houses and two storerooms were also renovated, she said.
The minister used the opportunity to thank stakeholders such as AfDB for their support towards the education fraternity.
“The collaboration with development partners like AfDB, private entities and individuals alike is profoundly encouraged by the ministry through its Friends of Education in Namibia Special Initiative.”
Education needs
Meanwhile, Nghipondoka also shed some light on the challenges the ministry faces. For effective and quality education in the country, a total of 4 479 classrooms, 1 176 hostel blocks, 2 406 teachers’ houses, 1 075 ablution blocks, 10 childhood learning development centres and 11 public libraries and record centres are needed, she said.
She further pointed out that due to a lack of resources, it will not be possible to construct all these at once, but added that it will be possible if all stakeholders assist the government.
[email protected]
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