Hundreds on waiting list as Namibia’s three special needs schools face major capacity crisis

More than 400 children with intellectual and physical disabilities have not been placed in special needs schools because there are too few such schools in the country.

Only three institutions are equipped to cater for these pupils – Eluwa Special School at Ongwediva, Dagbreek School for the Intellectually Impaired, and Môreson Special School for the Cognitively Impaired in Windhoek.

Môreson administration officer Kamuronga Immanuel says there are more than 400 pupils on its waiting list.

The school can accommodate only 214 pupils, with a ratio of one teacher to eight children.

“It’s not like a mainstream school, which might have 25 pupils per teacher,” he says.

Immanuel is calling on the Ministry of Education, Innnovation, Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture to open more schools for children with special needs in the country.

“The ministry should open at least one school in each region across the country to cater for these pupils. Add more classes to existing schools so pupils do not have to travel to Windhoek for school,” he says.

He says the issue places a burden on educators, communities and schools alike as they cannot cater to all pupils with special needs.

Môreson school principal Kaluvi Am says her school has expanded the teacher-pupil ratio to 12 pupils per teacher and voices concern over pupils’ placement at schools, given the lack of available facilities.

“It is not that we are not equipped with teachers or resources, it is just due to our [limited] capacity, “ she says.

Kaluvi says the school is doing its best to accommodate as many pupils as possible, explaining that its curriculum differs from that of mainstream schools.

She says some parents have even applied for their children’s placement as long as two years ago, but have not had them accepted.

Dagbreek school principal Paul du Plessis says his school can only accommodate 244 pupils. He could not provide how many children with special needs are on the school’s waiting list at the time of going to print.

If the school had more classrooms, it would be able to accommodate more pupils, he says.

“We have space available for new classrooms. Classrooms are a problem, and we also need more special schools in Namibia,” he says.

Du Plessis says the school has sent the ministry a request for more classrooms to be built.

In the meantime, he plans to build two classrooms and boys’ ablution facilities through sponsorships and fundraising.

The education ministry says it has taken note of the situation and would only be able to comment after analysing the matter.

Autism Association of Namibia director Petra Dillmann says it is not possible to build schools to accommodate all children with intellectual disabilities. The shortage of facilities is similar to that in the mainstream school system

She says the ministry, schools and teachers in Namibia should implement the country’s policy on inclusive education and train teachers to handle bigger classrooms.

“Everybody should advocate for more schools and placements. Parents must address the ministry.

“The policy on inclusive education must be implemented and the ministry should have a big budget to build more schools,” she says.

Dillmann says the country has “wonderful policies on paper”, but their implementation is slow.

She adds that the population is growing too quickly for three schools to be able to meet the country’s needs.

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