47 pupils suspended over untidy books 

The newly appointed principal of People’s Primary School on Tuesday allegedly suspended 47 pupils for two days due to untidy books.

In a letter, seen by The Namibian, parents were informed of the suspension of their children due to untidiness and not having the required school books. The pupils are from Grade 7 and 6. The school intends to suspend Grade 5 pupils whose books are uncovered and untidy.

The mother of a Grade 7 pupil, who does not want to be identified due to fear of her child’s victimisation, says: “Some of my daughter’s books were uncovered, but you cannot expect the students to have tidy books close to the end of the year.” 

People’s Primary School principal Elsandra Skrywer says after a month of being appointed, she conducted an inspection to see how the students were preparing for the external exams. 

“When I went to the Grade 7’s classroom, I was shocked to discover that some of the students were without school books or incomplete books,” she says.

According to Skrywer, it is unacceptable for students to go to school without their school books so close to the end of the year.

She says the books were provided by the school while others were bought by the pupils’ parents.

The principal says the suspension was an unorthodox method to make the parents aware of the state of their children’s school books.

“The suspension is what prompted the parents to react and take a look at their children’s books and even get some of them covered,” the principal notes.

The principal says the school tried to contact the parents of the children who had no books before they suspended them. 

“Must we threaten parents with the suspension of their children before they begin to care?” she asks.

The principal says she has given parents time until the end of the upcoming midterm break, between 6 and 13 September,  to replace the missing books and get the students ready for exams.

The Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture says they will only be able to respond today.