‘No child should be taught under a tree’

THE Ministry of Education has been urged to make sure that it solves the shortage of school textbooks with its 2005-2006 budget allocation.

The appeal was made by Swapo National Council member Barkias Namwandi during debate on the National Budget in the House yesterday. Namwandi said the Ministry should also renovate classrooms that are in a sorry state and by next year, Government should make sure that no child is taught under a tree.”Information technology systems should also be introduced to schools that have electricity,” said Namwandi, who is the regional councillor for the Mariental-Urban Constituency.He called on the Ministry of Mines and Energy to provide power to rural schools so that pupils there could also benefit from information technology.The Ministry of Education, he said, should address teachers’ accommodation in rural areas, because well-trained teachers do not want to go to rural schools because of the poor accommodation.Swapo’s Yambwa Mwilima said it worried him that many young people did not have access to better education facilities.”A recent study shows that poverty is inherited: if the parents are poor, the children are likely to be poor too.This is very disturbing but true,” said Mwilima, the regional councillor for the Katima Mulilo Rural Constituency.He said it was his belief that if resources were not distributed fairly very soon, the nation would face a revolution.”Let us not forget that a hungry man is an angry man.Therefore, a hungry man respects no law,” he added.Theo Vivian Diergaardt, the Swapo representative of the Rehoboth Urban West Constituency, said the socio-economic productivity of any country was measured by the quality of education of its people and Namibia was no exception.He said the Ministry of Education always received the biggest share of the Budget and it was important that it produced a higher standard of education.The three MPs supported the Ministry’s budget allocation.Namwandi said the Ministry should also renovate classrooms that are in a sorry state and by next year, Government should make sure that no child is taught under a tree.”Information technology systems should also be introduced to schools that have electricity,” said Namwandi, who is the regional councillor for the Mariental-Urban Constituency.He called on the Ministry of Mines and Energy to provide power to rural schools so that pupils there could also benefit from information technology.The Ministry of Education, he said, should address teachers’ accommodation in rural areas, because well-trained teachers do not want to go to rural schools because of the poor accommodation.Swapo’s Yambwa Mwilima said it worried him that many young people did not have access to better education facilities.”A recent study shows that poverty is inherited: if the parents are poor, the children are likely to be poor too.This is very disturbing but true,” said Mwilima, the regional councillor for the Katima Mulilo Rural Constituency.He said it was his belief that if resources were not distributed fairly very soon, the nation would face a revolution.”Let us not forget that a hungry man is an angry man.Therefore, a hungry man respects no law,” he added.Theo Vivian Diergaardt, the Swapo representative of the Rehoboth Urban West Constituency, said the socio-economic productivity of any country was measured by the quality of education of its people and Namibia was no exception.He said the Ministry of Education always received the biggest share of the Budget and it was important that it produced a higher standard of education.The three MPs supported the Ministry’s budget allocation.