148 classrooms, 25 schools in pipeline

The education ministry has 148 permanent classrooms and 66 pre-primary classrooms under construction, with completion targeted before the 2027 academic year, deputy education minister Dino Ballotti said on Monday.A further 25 schools are planned across 10 regions, 22 of which have already reached roof level, he said at the launch of a five-year strategic plan to address critical infrastructure gaps, integrate digital classrooms and empower young people.“Our decongestion plan is in full effect,” Ballotti said. “At no point are we saying that the classes and schools that are being built are sufficient; it is always going to be a task of prioritising with finite resources.”Under the plan, the ministry is also aiming to connect more than 300 schools to the internet.The roadmap cites progress in learner support and tertiary funding. The Namibia School Feeding Programme reached 500 371 learners, exceeding its target, while 30 223 students received financial assistance from the Namibia Students Financial Assistance Fund (NSFAF) in 2025.A further 39 308 new students have received award letters for 2026 under the government’s subsidised tertiary education funding model.“Having spent some years in the classroom myself as a teacher, I don't read these numbers as statistics,” Ballotti said. “Behind them is a child who did not go to school hungry, a student who was able to stay enrolled, a community that now has a proper classroom and a young person who is ready and prepared for work.”Ballotti said at least four vocational training centres have been marked for upgrading to technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges offering qualifications up to National Qualifications Framework Level 6.In youth development, 1 032 young people completed entrepreneurship training and 1 030 completed national service training, of whom 600 were enlisted into the Namibian Defence Force, the ministry said.In sports, 160 elite athletes signed contracts and 99 high-performance coaches received formal accreditation.

148 classrooms, 25 schools in pipeline

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Namibian Sun 2026-10-14

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148 classrooms, 25 schools in pipeline

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Namibian Sun 2026-10-14

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