Oshikoto in need of infrastructure, desks and chairs

The education regional director in the Oshikoto region, Aletta Eises, says the directorate is facing a critical shortage of chairs and desks at most schools in the region.

She says many pupils are either making use of broken desks and chairs or sitting on the floor.

Eises says at the moment the directorate is in need of about 6 000 desks and 6 000 chairs.

She raised these concerns during the handover of over 800 desks and 900 chairs donated by Dundee Precious Metals Tsumeb to schools at Tsumeb yesterday.

“Dundee’s effort to support the education sector should be emulated by other corporate companies. This is not just a mere donation of desks and chairs. This is Dundee awakening and realising the hopes and dreams of our children.

We have a shortage in Oshikoto of 6 000 chairs and 6 000 desks. The provision of desks and chairs for our pupils to sit comfortably and study well will help to improve these pupils’ lives. Education is the greatest weapon you can choose to change this world,” she said.

Eises said the directorate is battling many challenges, such as a lack of infrastructure and learning equipment.

She, therefore, appealed to stakeholders to assist the directorate with whatever they could to assist pupils to study and learn.

The director of sustainability and business transformation at Dundee, Barcelona Tsauses, said the smelter company decided to make an amount of more than N$900 000 available to Cosdec Tsumeb to manufacture the donated desks and chairs to address the shortage faced by pupils in schools in the Oshikoto region.

She said in 2023 the company held a series of workshops to determine the gaps faced by the education sector at Tsumeb and how the sector can be uplifted, hence the donation of desks and chairs was necessitated.