More than 1 400 pupils at IK Tjimuhiva Combined School in the Omusati region have been sent home indefinitely due to a critical water shortage at the school.
The school in the Ruacana constituency relies on a borehole for its water supply, which has reportedly stopped functioning adequately.
Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture executive director Sanet Steenkamp said the ministry is aware of the water crisis at the school, which the Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform is attending to.
She said the water crisis has left the ministry frustrated.
“In terms of the learners that are sent home, any hours that will be lost from education in a formal system in our schools, the learning and teaching of these subjects that teachers who are off now and not teaching these learners, the principal will have to facilitate structural timetabling of compensatory teaching that must take place for every hour lost,” she said.
She said while the pupils are released, she believes they are released with reading work.
According to a school staff member who spoke to The Namibian on condition of anonymity, because he is not allowed to talk to the media, the lack of water has created unsanitary conditions with malfunctioning toilets and unpleasant smells.
The staff member said the school had informed the regional director of education, Benny Eiseb, about the situation, but allegedly only received excuses.
“We informed the director’s office, but they kept giving us excuses after excuses. On 2 February, we decided it was unsafe to keep the children at school without water, so we sent them home.”
The source said only one hostel block has water, which the whole school depends on, but sometimes the water there also stops running.
Eiseb reportedly visited the school on Friday and questioned the decision to send the pupils home, suggesting they should have remained at the school.
He reportedly asked the school administrators to bring the pupils back to school last Sunday, which the school staff allegedly refused.
He reportedly promised to send technicians to the school the following day, but repeatedly postponed their arrival, citing that they were at Opuwo, about 60 km from the school.
As of yesterday, the technicians had still not arrived at the school, the source said.
“We are concerned.”
The source said Eiseb discouraged them from reporting the issue to the media.
School principal Philipus Linus referred The Namibian to Eiseb’s office when contacted for comment yesterday.
Eiseb told The Namibian yesterday he was unable to comment on the matter and would only do so next Wednesday. Further complicating the situation, the source said, is the overcrowded hostel facility which accommodates 1 450 pupils from pre-primary to Grade 11, despite a capacity for only 700.
Another official from the school said the beds at the school hostels are not sufficient and one mattress is shared by three pre-primary pupils, while some rooms that have a capacity of 15 pupils accommodate 32.
The official said there is also a small makeshift hostel at the school which accommodates about 70 pupils. The official said these pupils share one non-functioning toilet and one shower.
“They have to wake up at around 04h00 to collect water, and after bathing, they clean the hostel before they go to school.”
The school does not have enough cleaners, the official added.
Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for
only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!
