Schools squeezed for space

CLASSROOM shortages, especially for Grade 8 pupils, was the cause of chaos at some coastal high schools on the first day of the new school year yesterday.

Several schools had to either turn away pupils away, or place them on waiting lists. “It was absolute chaos today,” said Leon Visagie, Department Head of the Swakopmund Secondary School.”We are up to 48 to 49 pupils per class.We have 192 Grade 8 pupils in four classes.We just don’t have the facilities to accommodate more”.Visagie said they had already started to turn away parents and children last Wednesday.At the De Duine High School at Walvis Bay it was also “hectic”, according to the Principal, Wentworth Mouton.He told The Namibian there was a particularly large influx of Grade 8 pupils.By yesterday he had already placed 258 in Grade 8, while his Grade 9 classes are also packed.The school had 278 Grade 8 pupils in 2003.”There is definitely an increase in numbers.We are still waiting for all the children to come back.Both headmasters mentioned they had noticed a marked influx of pupils from elsewhere in the country.Visagie said the new trend for parents was to take their children to schools with good Grade 10 and Grade 12 results.Director of the Erongo Regional Education Office, Linus Garo‰b, confirmed this trend.He said parents were increasingly looking for schools with good reputations.He said principals first wanted to see these pupils’ marks before enrolling them.Several headmasters The Namibian spoke to felt there was a need for another high school at Swakopmund.”There are too many primary schools for the number of high schools.We always have a problem to accommodate Grade 8 pupils,” said Dirk Bezuidenhout, principal of the Hermann Gmeiner Technical School at Swakopmund.The Director said as building high schools was not a priority of Government, they were looking at the cheaper option of adding new classrooms to existing schools.”There are no plans to build a new high school, but we are looking at building new classrooms at three high schools – Namib High, Westside High and Swakopmund Secondary School”.Two new primary schools at Swakopmund and Walvis Bay opened their doors for the first time yesterday.The new schools seemed to have lightened the burden at the coast with most primary schools reporting a smooth first day.The new school built near the DRC informal settlement at Swakopmund, called Hanganeni Primary School, had a bigger influx of pupils than expected.Anthony Jantjies, temporary principal, said yesterday they already had 30 Grade 1 pupils on a waiting list and 130 children waiting for places in Grades 1 to 7.”We did not expect such an influx of pupils,” said Jantjies, who is still headmaster of the Tamariskia Primary School as well.He said while most children come from the surrounding neighbourhoods of DRC, Mahetago and Saamstaan, many parents from the DRC had also brought their children from other towns in the region for enrolment.Paulus Fisher, headmaster of the Narraville Primary school at Walvis Bay, said the waiting list of about 200 names this year, was much better than previous years.”The process went much smoother this year, with most parents already enrolling their Grade 1 kids in October last year.One parent remarked that it was not as bad as a doctor’s waiting room this year,” said Fisher.”It was absolute chaos today,” said Leon Visagie, Department Head of the Swakopmund Secondary School. “We are up to 48 to 49 pupils per class. We have 192 Grade 8 pupils in four classes. We just don’t have the facilities to accommodate more”. Visagie said they had already started to turn away parents and children last Wednesday. At the De Duine High School at Walvis Bay it was also “hectic”, according to the Principal, Wentworth Mouton. He told The Namibian there was a particularly large influx of Grade 8 pupils. By yesterday he had already placed 258 in Grade 8, while his Grade 9 classes are also packed. The school had 278 Grade 8 pupils in 2003. “There is definitely an increase in numbers. We are still waiting for all the children to come back. Both headmasters mentioned they had noticed a marked influx of pupils from elsewhere in the country. Visagie said the new trend for parents was to take their children to schools with good Grade 10 and Grade 12 results. Director of the Erongo Regional Education Office, Linus Garo‰b, confirmed this trend. He said parents were increasingly looking for schools with good reputations. He said principals first wanted to see these pupils’ marks before enrolling them. Several headmasters The Namibian spoke to felt there was a need for another high school at Swakopmund. “There are too many primary schools for the number of high schools. We always have a problem to accommodate Grade 8 pupils,” said Dirk Bezuidenhout, principal of the Hermann Gmeiner Technical School at Swakopmund. The Director said as building high schools was not a priority of Government, they were looking at the cheaper option of adding new classrooms to existing schools. “There are no plans to build a new high school, but we are looking at building new classrooms at three high schools – Namib High, Westside High and Swakopmund Secondary School”. Two new primary schools at Swakopmund and Walvis Bay opened their doors for the first time yesterday. The new schools seemed to have lightened the burden at the coast with most primary schools reporting a smooth first day. The new school built near the DRC informal settlement at Swakopmund, called Hanganeni Primary School, had a bigger influx of pupils than expected. Anthony Jantjies, temporary principal, said yesterday they already had 30 Grade 1 pupils on a waiting list and 130 children waiting for places in Grades 1 to 7. “We did not expect such an influx of pupils,” said Jantjies, who is still headmaster of the Tamariskia Primary School as well. He said while most children come from the surrounding neighbourhoods of DRC, Mahetago and Saamstaan, many parents from the DRC had also brought their children from other towns in the region for enrolment. Paulus Fisher, headmaster of the Narraville Primary school at Walvis Bay, said the waiting list of about 200 names this year, was much better than previous years. “The process went much smoother this year, with most parents already enrolling their Grade 1 kids in October last year. One parent remarked that it was not as bad as a doctor’s waiting room this year,” said Fisher.