THE Tsintsabis Combined School, established in 1993 to provide access to education, especially to children from the San community, has a high enrolment of 795 pupils this year.
The school which has classes from pre-grade to Grade 9, this year enrolled a total of 795 pupils, up from 759 in 2018 and 733 in 2019.
Acting principal Christaline Narubes told Nampa in an interview on Tuesday that the classes were overcrowded this year, due to the fact that it is the only school in the Oshikoto region that offers Khoekhoegowab as a medium of instruction.
Khoekhoegowab is the language mainly spoken among the San community, she said.
“We used to have one group per grade previously, but now we have more groups of pupils per grade due to an increased enrolment,” Narubes noted. She explained that the school has the following grade groups this year: two groups each for the pre-grade, Grades 5 and Grade 6 and three groups each for Grade 1, 2, 3 and 4.
“It is only in Grades 7, 8 and 9 where we have one group per grade, but they are many (pupils) in a classroom,” stated Narubes, adding that there are 43 pupils in Grade 7, 46 in Grade 8 and 38 in Grade 9.
According to her, 17 pupils have been placed on the waiting list for Grade 8.
“However, we are grateful that our regional director of education has recommended that the Khoekhoegowab language be introduced at another school in the region, Tsumeb Secondary School, as from this year,” said the acting principal.
The school phased out Grade 10 in 2018, its former highest grade, due to the ongoing implementation of the new school curriculum in the country.
Tsintsabis is situated over 80-kilometres east of Oshivelo and 62km north of Tsumeb.
– Nampa
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