THE lack of pre-primary education has been identified as a major challenge for teachers at Baumgartsbrunn Primary School.
The school, situated 21 kilometres west of Windhoek, was constructed in 1978 as a private institution, and became a public school in 2005. It accommodates 201 pupils from Grades 1 to 7.
In an interview with Nampa on Wednesday, school principal Emgard Meroro explained that the lack of a pre-primary education background has placed pupils there at a disadvantage in terms of their academic and behavioural progression.
She emphasised that a pre-primary background is crucial as it improves learning and access to learning in primary school.
“For a teacher to have 30 pupils in class without a pre-primary education background is a huge challenge and slows down the pace of the annual curriculum, as pupils need extra attention,” she said.
Meroro said the school has a hostel, and thus accommodates learners from nearby farms, the Mix settlement as well as the Havana, 7de Laan and 8ste Laan informal settlements.
She added that another challenge faced by the school is the enrolment of pupils above the expected age for Grade 10, and that in most cases, these pupils also lack the necessary documents.
“Currently, we have six over-aged pupils without documents, including [those of] their parents. When approached with such circumstances as head of the school, one is left with no option but to accommodate these children as part of their fundamental right,” she noted.
The school also faces a lack of clean running water due to the drastically low levels of the Friedenau Dam, which supplies the school with water.
However, Meroro said the school receives 20 000 litres of drinking water from NamWater twice a week.
“We have to be extra cautious with the little ones because you can tell them the current tap water is not safe, they should only bath with it, [but] in some cases you will find them drinking the water,” she said.
On the positive side, the principal said teachers are doing their utmost and the school is up to standard, adding that parental involvement in terms of voluntary school fees’ contribution and participation in school activities had also improved.
