Tsintsabis youth want Namcol, youth centre

THE YOUNG Tsintsabis youth want the only school in the area, the Tsintsabis Combined School, to start offering Namcol classes to those who want to improve their subjects.

They say at present, whoever wants to attend Namcol classes will have to go to Tsumeb, some 50 kilometres away.

In addition, they also want the school to be expanded to Grade 12 as it currently only offers learning up to Grade 10. They further request government to build them a youth centre which can house a library.

“Life is boring here. We do not do anything. No library, nothing. Even if you want to study or keep busy with something, you have nowhere to go,” said 19-year-old Clodensia Thais, who completed Grade 12 last year.

Having obtained less than 20 points, she wanted to improve her results with Namcol this year, but the distance to Tsumeb demoralised her. She now sits at home, doing nothing. She told The Namibian that she wants to improve her points and study nursing.

Louise Gaeses also completed Grade 12 last year. Her dream to study law was cut short when she did not obtain enough points.

However, she told that she wants to improve her grades to gain access to a tertiary institution. “ I cannot do it here as there is no Namcol,” she lamented.

Asked why they cannot go to Tsumeb where Namcol is present, the two stated that their parents were already financially exhausted as they had to support them for the two years that they stayed there, attending senior secondary school.

“They have been taking care of me all that time. It’s just unfair that they will again use the little they have for Namcol transport to Tsumeb,” Gaeses added.

Namcol offers, at most, three classes per week, and that translates into N$ 300 for transport money a week for a pupil attending classes at Tsumeb.

also spoke to three other school-leavers in the area, who expressed similar sentiments.

They say a lack of facilities like a community library and a training centre for the youth can also drive them to engage in wrong deeds.

“Some of us really want to do something to empower ourselves, but we have no resources,” one school-leaver told . He said he wants to undergo computer training.

Oshikoto education director Lameck Kafidi said regarding the extension of a curriculum, two main points are considered.

These are the enrolment of learners over the past two years, and the pass rate for Grade 10.

“They (school) have to apply through the circuit committee, and if the committee is satisfied, they forward it to the regional manager,” he stated.

He explained that it is only when the application is approved that a school will be given the green light to extend their curriculum.

“Sometimes people do not understand these things. They only talk that they want their schools to grow, but do not know what is considered. Can you establish Grade 11 and Grade 12 for 10 leaners only?” he asked.

Kafidi said to his knowledge, the pass rate of the Tsintsabis Combined School does not warrant an extension of the curriculum, nor had they applied for one over the past few years.

School principal Erick Keimseb told upon enquiry that the low enrolment rate made it impossible for an extension of the curriculum to accommodate Grade 11 and Grade 12.

“When I came this year, I also looked at the possibility of extending the curriculum, but the enrolment and pass rates cannot allow that,” he said.

He added that in 2006, the school only had one Grade 10 class of six pupils, and only one passed. Last year, they had 16 pupils, and only four passed.

This year’s enrolment stands at 18 pupils. Keimseb also denied that the school did not offer Namcol classes. He stated that officials from the Office of the Prime Minister came to the school to encourage pupils who failed Grade 10 last year to register and improve their grades. In return, each pupil would get a monthly allowance of N$ 500.

A Namcol centre was duly established at the school which offers Namcol lessons for Grade 10s.

It was further established that pupils were only interested in getting the monthly allowance, and only attended classes towards month-end when the Prime Minister’s Office came to make payments.

Those payments have now stopped.