Some Rehoboth parents have expressed their disappointment about schools closing yesterday due to a water outage.
“Dear parents/guardians, apologies for the late notification. Please take note that there will be no school on 15 January 2025 for pupils due to a water outage in town.
Please take note school will resume from Thursday [today]. Thank you,” Dr Lemmer High School principal Elwin Meintjies said in a statement.
Selma Snyders, a parent, said pupils were yesterday missing out on learning.
“Will there always be no school when Rehoboth does not have water? Why can’t schools take the necessary precautions to find ways to get water on days like this.
“School operates for a few hours only, from 07h00 to 13h00 and I feel something could have been arranged for the day.
I think the schools could have better planned for the matter so our children didn’t have to lose out on a day of learning.
“Education is very important. Children belong in schools,” she said yesterday.
Another parent, Gert Cloete, said education is critical for breaking the cycle of poverty and Namibian children should attend school every day.
“Something must be done so this never happens again,” he said.
A teacher, Maria Strauss, said schools cannot run if they cannot provide water to pupils and staff.
She said operating a school without clean water is unhygienic.
“Hygiene must come first. Children need clean water and clean toilets to use. For girls, the situation is especially troublesome. If schools do not have proper toilets, girls drop out once they reach puberty.
“Pupils have to frequently wash their hands and it is important for children to use clean toilets.
Without water for the day, it is impossible to operate a hygienic and safe school. We are looking forward to welcoming all pupils back to school tomorrow,” Strauss said.
Rehoboth mayor Justin Coetzee yesterday said the Namibia Water Corporation (NamWater) announced that the water outage was due to maintenance work.
“Water at Rehoboth will be off due to maintenance work being executed on the main pipeline coming from NamWater,” he said.
Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for
only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!