Huts as classrooms in Oshikoto

Regional councils have bemoaned the state of education in their regions in their quarterly reports to the National Council. Among the challenges is a lack of toilets, classrooms and qualified teachers.According to the Oshikoto Region’s report, the region’s lack of educational infrastructure is so bad that teaching is taking place in about 450 traditional huts. The region also lacks qualified teachers. The lack of schools in the Khomas Region forces about 13 schools to have double sessions. The region struggles to place learners in grade 1 and grade 8 and is making use of tent schools. Another region where school infrastructure is a problem is Kavango East, where the regional council said there is overcrowding in classrooms. “Most schools do not have ablution facilities that compromise hygiene,” the council’s report reads. The //Karas Region blames its poor performance in grade 10 and 12 examinations on a lack of qualified teachers and poor discipline. Regional councils have also bemoaned the operating hours of shebeen and bars in towns across Namibia, calling for operating hours to be limited. Other recommendations from the regions include one by the //Karas Regional Council for the age of consent for sex increased to 18. Other regions offered ideas on how to deal with the water crisis and drought being experienced across the country. The Ohangwena Regional Council recommended a revision of the Liquor Act to place a moratorium on the issuing of shebeen licenses. The recommendation came from the region’s town hall meetings during constituency week. The recommendation calls for shebeen operating hours to be limited to between 10:00 and 22:00. The report was submitted by Ohangwena National Council member Jason Ndakunda. The National Council said the regions’ challenges related mostly to shortages of infrastructure and professionals such as doctors, pharmacists, social workers and engineers. “Cumbersome foreign recruitment and lack of qualified Namibian medical professionals is one of the critical challenges,” it said. The Oshikoto Region complained about delays in supplying medicines and medical equipment to health facilities. “Outbreak of diseases in the region is a serious challenge due to cross-border aspects coupled with the long distance to health facilities. Yellow fever is one of the medical challenges as it is experienced in neighbouring Angola,” the report reads. With the country battling drought and scarcity of water, the region wants a state of emergency declared in its eastern constituencies of Epembe, Omudaungilo and Oshikunde, where underground water is said to be saline and there is no piped water.Among the other challenges experienced by the Oshikoto Region is what the region calls “a protracted and bureaucratic land delivery system due to fragmented and outdated land laws”. The //Karas Regional Council said poverty in the region had only decreased by 3.4% over the past 10 years. “Poverty in the region is estimated at about 14%,” the report reads. The Khomas Region wants contractors doing sub-standard work to be blacklisted. STAFF REPORTER

Huts as classrooms in Oshikoto

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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Huts as classrooms in Oshikoto

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-04

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