Kunene hostels house 14 000

More than 14 000 learners in Kunene stay in hostels to attend school, as the region struggles with severe overcrowding in government schools, education minister Sanet Steenkamp said this month.

Speaking at the inauguration of three schools in Outjo, Steenkamp said 21 government hostels accommodate 6 807 learners, while a further 33 subsidised hostels house 7 204 learners.

“More than 14 000 of Kunene's children sleep away from their own homes each week so that they can reach a classroom,” she said.

"When I speak of government's presence in this region, I do not mean it abstractly," she said, pointing to the officials, drivers and teachers who support learners travelling long distances to reach school.

Steenkamp also flagged overcrowding as a separate challenge.

“Overcrowding does not only mean too many learners in a classroom,” she said.

“It weakens the interaction between teacher and learner, it strains sanitation facilities, it complicates classroom management, and it limits opportunities for individual learner support.”

Left unresolved, she warned, "it affects outcomes."

New schools

The ministry handed over three newly completed schools in Outjo alongside infrastructure upgrades at nine other schools. The projects, built during the 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years, cost more than N$70 million combined.

Outjo Project Secondary School, built in two phases, includes 20 classrooms, an administration block, computer laboratory, science laboratory, library and ablution facilities.

Outjo Project Primary School gained new pre-primary classrooms and dedicated ablution facilities, while Okapundja Primary School received a module 4 classroom block, ablution facilities, a water tank and fencing.

Further infrastructure was delivered at Etoto West PS, Musaso CS, Oukongo CS, Elias Amxab CS, KM Maundu PS, Katutura Project School, Kaoko-Otavi CS, Ombombo CS and Otjerunda CS, as part of a wider national push to tackle overcrowding.

According to the ministry's quarterly capital project report for April to June, 92 new pre-primary classrooms were completed across 11 regions during the quarter, including 10 in Kunene. By the end of June, 46 of 70 planned pre-primary construction sites were complete, a 66% completion rate nationally. Kunene was one of only seven of Namibia's 14 regions to complete every pre-primary site planned for the region.

The ministry's school decongestion programme has also expanded, with 24 new schools now under construction nationally.

Round One, launched in November 2025, covered 10 schools; Round Two, launched in March, added 14 more across 10 regions, including Kunene. Another secondary school is under construction in Opuwo.

For Steenkamp, construction is only the first step. “A completed classroom is a beginning, not an end,” she said. “What happens inside it, the quality of the teaching, the safety of the environment, the trust between this school and this community, is what will determine whether today's investment becomes tomorrow's opportunity.”

She urged learners to make full use of the new facilities. "Your circumstances may shape where you begin, but they do not have to determine where you finish," she told them.

[email protected]