Rehoboth tries to defuse ‘time bomb’ at schools

WITH an average of 21 schoolgirls getting pregnant every year and approximately 170 secondary-school pupils dropping out of school yearly, the Rehoboth community got together this past weekend to discuss ways of getting their town back on track.

A group of residents at the town recently formed the Rehoboth Development Forum, a discussion group which aims to facilitate “dialogue and knowledge sharing” among the town’s residents. This group organised a seminar at the town this past weekend, discussing education, social and moral development, health, and agriculture.One of the more striking findings revealed at the seminar was that between 2003 and 2007, a total of 680 children dropped out of school at the town.Add to this the fact that an average of 261 pupils a year fail grade 10, and one of the presenters on Saturday, Lyndon Januarie, says the town is sitting on a time bomb.Januarie’s calculations add up to 9 315 children failing grade ten in Rehoboth over a 15-year period.While stressing the need for parents to take more responsibility during their children’s school careers, as well as calling on school children to be more motivated and disciplined, Januarie said that Government would have to look at changing its policy on school transfers.Government, he said, also needs to change its policy on tenth-graders, who should be allowed to repeat the grade instead of being thrown out to join the escalating unemployment statistic.The group also discussed teenage pregnancy, which they said happens to an average of 21 schoolgirls at Rehoboth every year.This figure, between 2003 and 2007, stands at 85.The Council of Churches in Namibia (CCN) on Saturday presented the group with a N$9 000 cheque to jumpstart their initiative.The group intends to use the presentations discussed over the weekend to draw up a plan with long- and short-term objectives as well as action plans for the forum to get involved with.This group organised a seminar at the town this past weekend, discussing education, social and moral development, health, and agriculture.One of the more striking findings revealed at the seminar was that between 2003 and 2007, a total of 680 children dropped out of school at the town.Add to this the fact that an average of 261 pupils a year fail grade 10, and one of the presenters on Saturday, Lyndon Januarie, says the town is sitting on a time bomb.Januarie’s calculations add up to 9 315 children failing grade ten in Rehoboth over a 15-year period.While stressing the need for parents to take more responsibility during their children’s school careers, as well as calling on school children to be more motivated and disciplined, Januarie said that Government would have to look at changing its policy on school transfers.Government, he said, also needs to change its policy on tenth-graders, who should be allowed to repeat the grade instead of being thrown out to join the escalating unemployment statistic.The group also discussed teenage pregnancy, which they said happens to an average of 21 schoolgirls at Rehoboth every year.This figure, between 2003 and 2007, stands at 85.The Council of Churches in Namibia (CCN) on Saturday presented the group with a N$9 000 cheque to jumpstart their initiative.The group intends to use the presentations discussed over the weekend to draw up a plan with long- and short-term objectives as well as action plans for the forum to get involved with.