Itchy and scratchy school in the North closed

EDUCATION authorities in the Ohangwena Region have closed the Omhanda Combined School in Ondingwanyama village, where pupils have been suffering from some kind of skin irritation since March.

Some parents are not happy with the closure and say they will stage a protest to ask the Ministry of Education why the school has been closed. Regional Education Director Josia Udjombala told The Namibian that the school had not been closed permanently, but that activities there had merely been suspended.He said more complaints of itching and scratching children had been reported.According to Udjombala, 153 affected pupils have been placed in nearby schools.When the phenomenon was first reported, health officials conducted blood tests on the children but found nothing physically wrong with them.According to one of the parents, Amos Kalumelume, some church pastors visited the school to pray for the children, but they left hurriedly after they, too, started itching all over.Regional Education Director Josia Udjombala told The Namibian that the school had not been closed permanently, but that activities there had merely been suspended.He said more complaints of itching and scratching children had been reported.According to Udjombala, 153 affected pupils have been placed in nearby schools.When the phenomenon was first reported, health officials conducted blood tests on the children but found nothing physically wrong with them.According to one of the parents, Amos Kalumelume, some church pastors visited the school to pray for the children, but they left hurriedly after they, too, started itching all over.