Schools grapple with furniture shortage

SCHOOLS in the Oshana region are grappling with a shortage of classroom chairs and desks, a situation the education authorities say is disrupting the proper learning process of pupils.

Oshana education director Hileni Amukana said the region is in need of 3 126 chairs and 2 763 desks to ensure that every pupil has enough learning space. The regional education directorate has been battling to raise funds to cater to the school’s furniture needs.

At the moment, some pupils are forced to share desks, as the school’s furniture is not enough to cater to every pupil, while some use broken planks as desks.

Amukana made these remarks during the high-level information-sharing meeting on education in the Oshana region at Ongwediva on Tuesday.

“The most practical way is to ensure that we fix the broken chairs and desks ourselves. We have spoken with Valombola Vocational Training Centre to assist us in this regard and they are willing to assist, even though resources are limited. We will try our best to ensure that before the end of the year, every child has a desk and chair in the classroom,” she said.

The directorate is also grappling with broken hostel beds, broken pots and blocked sewage due to dilapidated hostel infrastructure, among other challenges.

Amukana said most of the school infrastructure in the region is falling apart, posing a danger to pupils and teachers.

“Our infrastructure is broken. We really need to do something. No maintenance budget was allocated to the region over the last financial year, hence, most of the hostel infrastructure is in a dilapidated state,” said Amukana.

The regional education directorate is also in need of more than 48 toilets to be constructed at schools.

Currently, many schools in the region use pit latrines or open-space toilets, says Amukana. Over 17 secondary schools are without hostels in the region and more than 71 classrooms need to be constructed.

Mukana said most schools in the region are without administration blocks, especially the non-boarding schools. She said teachers use the little space they have as offices.

The ministry of education’s executive director, Sanet Steenkamp, who attended the information-sharing session, said due to the ongoing economic crisis in the country, the ministry was unable to rehabilitate all school infrastructure in the country.

Steenkamp urged schools to engage parents and the business community in fund-raising initiatives for the upkeep of the school’s infrastructure development.

She also appealed to the regional education authorities to be prudent and proactively guide parents to assist with the upkeep of the schools.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.