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Windhoek parents scramble for school placements amid reopening challenges

STILL WAITING … Parents of children who were not placed in schools since Monday were still waiting at an of- fice of the education ministry of education in the Frans Indongo building in Windhoek yesterday to inquire about available options.

Some Windhoek parents were yesterday still trying to secure their children’s placement after schools nationwide reopened on Monday.

A group of parents gathered at the Khomas Regional Council’s office to ensure their Grade 1 and Grade 8 children are accommodated by schools.

This comes after executive director of education, arts and culture Sanet Steenkamp on Monday said 900 000 pupils were expected to be in classrooms at 2 036 schools countrywide at the beginning of this week. Of these schools, 1 740 are government schools.

Steenkamp said 33 332 teachers will be attending to these pupils.

She said some parts of the country still have space for more pupils, while Okahandja has an overwhelming number of schoolchildren.

“Oshana is still to place 1 200 pre-primary grades, and 641 Grade 1s,” she said.

Windhoek parent Martha Peterson (70) said she is still looking for a spot for the Grade 8 San child she adopted.

“We applied at Immanuel Shifidi and Jan Jonker last year. We have not received a response, so we came here to get placement,” she said.

Petersen said they had to obtain a letter from the chief of the Hai-//om community, because the child she adopted did not have a birth certificate. This further contributed to the placement challenge.

In a letter seen by The Namibian, chief Dawid //Khamuxab said: “The Hai-//om San community is the oldest indigenous community in Namibia, which is still disadvantaged in some cases of social, economic and educational status, and is also vulnerable.”

He said by pursuing her studies, Peterson’s child would benefit the Hai-//om community and the country.

A parent, who preferred to remain anonymous, said she has been visiting the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture for the past five days.

“I’ve been here since last Wednesday, and I still don’t have a school for my boy,” she said.

The parent, who is a single mother, said she would prefer for her child to be placed close to her home in Eros.

Michael Muremi says he wanted to relocate his brother (10), who lives in the Kavango East region with their grandparents, to Windhoek to be closer to him.

The brother obtained A and B symbols in this past exam.

“My brother is a smart boy. I know he will do better here in Windhoek, and I can also help him when he is close by,” Muremi said.

The regional office, however, told Muremi he could only be assisted once all Khomas region pupils had been placed at schools, he said.

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