Despite N$10 million allocated in 2023 for the renovation of several schools in the Kavango East region, including Gabriel Muhuli Combined School, pupils remain in crumbling and unsafe classrooms.
The school, along with Rundu JP, Livuyu JP, Ngone Combined School and Ndama Combined School, were some of the schools marked for renovations last financial year.
But the funds stalled in bureaucracy, a situation that has now forced parents to withdraw their children from the school.
Mukwe constituency councillor and Kavango East regional chairperson Damian Maghambayi says a meeting should be treated as an emergency and should not be delayed by bureaucratic processes.
“We have directed them (the education directorate) that this is very urgent. They must make use of direct procurement,” Maghambayi says.
He suggests that the ministry engage vocational training centres to speed up the repairs.
Regional education director Christine Shilima confirms that although the money was transferred last year, renovations never took place.
Shilima says the renovation funds for identified schools were not transferred to the school’s account.
“By last year, N$10 million was transferred for the renovation of several schools, including Gabriel Muhuli. However, for reasons I cannot disclose, the regional council could not award the contracts. Education does not award, it is done at the council level,” she says.
According to Shilima, pupils are exposed to electrical wires, broken switches, unhygienic toilets, salty drinking water and tents vulnerable to strong winds on a daily basis.
She says the lack of progress has left parents fuming, with conditions at the school now described as “life-threatening” for pupils.
“One of the main issues is the electrical hazards in the classrooms. The switches need to be replaced, and there are open wires on the ground which put pupils at risk. Even the switchboard at the water point is unsafe. This is the main reason we had to close the school temporarily,” Shilima says.
Shilima adds that measures are being taken and that the problem should be resolved by today.
Shilima says the education directorate is working with the Namibia Water Corporation to prioritise the school in an upcoming water project, while procurement processes are underway to secure regular septic tank pumping.
“As a procurement committee, by last Friday we made the recommendation that an award should be made. Once the regional council confirms the award, the school will be informed when pumping can start,” she says.
Parents say the government has ignored their cries for too long.
School board member Veronica Kativa accuses the ministry of neglect.
“Our children are using toilets that are not in good conditions; pit latrine toilets are dangerous for young ones,” she says.
Kativa blasts the ministry for providing tents instead of fixing classrooms.
“We are not allowing our children to continue learning in tents. If one loses their life, the ministry will not compensate the family at all. Our three pupils are always going for follow-ups to see the doctor after the tank incident earlier this year. The ministry has turned a blind eye to the matter,” she says.
Another parent, Elisabeth Kaveto, describes the situation as “torturing”.
“We have cried many times at the ministry. The buildings are in a deplorable state, there is no clean water and their health is at stake. We understand the examination is close, but the ministry must know they are the root cause of this. If our children fail, it’s in their hands,” she says.
Kaveto also rejects the tent solution.
“Every year the ministry solves our problems with tents. We don’t want tents, we want permanent structures to ensure the safety of our children,” she adds.
