Three remote schools in the Erongo region have received new classroom blocks and storerooms, alongside renovations to existing facilities worth N$3.2 million, to help ease severe infrastructural shortfalls.
The upgrades at Okongue Primary School in the Dâures constituency, JP Brandt Primary School at Utuseb and !Oe #Gab Primary School at Tubusis was handed over on Tuesday through the Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) Rural Schools Project, executed in partnership with the Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) Fund.
Each school received a newly constructed block featuring two classrooms and a storeroom, alongside structural refurbishments.
Speaking at the official handover ceremony at Okongue village on Tuesday, Erongo governor Nathalia |Goagoses commended the corporate partners for supporting public education.
“Education is a shared responsibility,” |Goagoses said. “While the government provides leadership, policy direction and resources, strong partnerships with the private sector, communities and other stakeholders enable us to achieve greater impact”.
She urged other businesses to follow suit and called on local residents to safeguard the investment.
“A classroom is more than four walls and a roof; it is a place where dreams begin. . . I urge the school and the community to take ownership of these facilities by protecting, maintaining and preserving them for generations to come,” she added.
MTC chief brand, marketing, communications and sustainability officer Tim Ekandjo highlights the national urgency of the classroom deficit.
He says the joint initiative between MTC and the MVA Fund has so far delivered 61 classrooms across the country, but stressed that more private firms must step up to meet the demand.
MVA Fund chief corporate affairs officer John Haufiku says while the fund’s primary mandate remains crash prevention and victim support, corporate social investment in education remains a core priority. The MVA Fund contributed N$1 million towards the Erongo region projects.
Okongue Primary School principal Jossel Hindjou says the new infrastructure solves a longstanding crisis.
“We faced a serious shortage of classrooms, and as teachers, we did not have a staff room. That is now history, thanks to MTC and the MVA Fund,” Hindjou says.
