MTC builds classrooms worth N$1,2m

Groendraai Primary School outside Rehoboth in the Hardap region received four new classrooms and a storeroom valued at over N$1,2 million on Friday.

The construction was undertaken by the Mobile Telecommunications Company’s MTCRural School Project.

MTC spokesperson Tim Ekandjo said the company is committed to reducing the current backlog in school classrooms, and to providing pupils with an environment conducive to teaching and learning.

In January this year, MTC announced the company would be investing N$3,2 million in the construction of classrooms in three regions – the Zambezi, Ohangwena, and Hardap regions – this year.

The schools to benefit would be Kahunikwa Primary School, Onduludiya Combined School, and Groendraai Primary School.

“This is a national challenge that needs smart collaboration to solve. As MTC, under the MTCRural School Project, we promise to continue building classrooms as we complement the ministry’s effort in addressing the issue of insufficient classrooms at schools, particularly those in remote areas.

“We are also calling on like-minded corporations to partner with us on this,” Ekandjo said.

School principal Charlton Rickerts during the handover event said the school made use of corrugated iron structures, which are very hot in summer, while other classrooms were so dilapidated that rainwater would stream into them.

“So, every morning during the rainy season, we have to clean up first before we can teach. The wind always blows, and the windows are broken. It’s also very cold.

“We start at 08h00 to accommodate pupils from surrounding farms, and sometimes we teach until 20h00 or 21h00 just to get in the work due to the fact that we don’t have enough classrooms,” he said.

The school was constructed 71 years ago on privately owned farmland, and serves 225 pupils.