Dire scarcity of hostels in the north undercuts learner performance

As the 2026 academic year gets underway, thousands of learners in Oshikoto, Oshana, Ohangwena and Omusati are unable to secure a hostel bed, with fewer than 1 in 20 schools across the four regions offering boarding facilities — an average of just 4.5%.

The data provided by regional directorates paint a sobering picture of the infrastructure gap.

In Ohangwena, education director Isak Hamatwi said he oversees 303 schools, yet only eight offer boarding facilities – just 2.6% of the region’s educational institutions.

The Ohangwena region hasn't seen a new purpose-built boarding school since the community-upgraded Oshikunde Combined School in 2014, leaving the existing few to face chronic overcrowding.

In Oshikoto, the ratio is equally thin, with 10 state hostels for 236 schools – only 4.2%.

Similarly, Omusati boasts 279 state schools but offers only 12 boarding options, meaning just 4.3% of its schools provide a residential environment.

The last addition in Omusati, IK Tjimuhiva Secondary, was completed nearly a decade ago in the 2016 financial year.

Even in Oshana, which holds the highest ratio at 6.7%, with 11 hostels across 165 schools, the demand far outstrips the supply.

According to the Oshana education directorate, the construction of the Andimba Toivo ya Toivo hostel in 2023 was a step forward, but over 93% of the schools still lack hostels.

These regions consistently emerge as the nation’s academic powerhouses, sparking an urgent conversation about whether the "home away from home" model could help address Namibia’s educational hurdles.

Chores sap energy

In many Namibian households, learners are burdened with long walks home followed by gruelling chores such as fetching water, herding livestock or cooking for the family.

By the time the lamp is lit for study, physical and mental exhaustion has often set in.

In a boarding environment, learners can focus on their studies when they return to the hostel.

As Oshikoto education director Hilma Nuunyango-George puts it, the journey is simply "from the school to the room".

She added: “When we remove the burden of household chores, we allow the learner to give 100% commitment to their books, and the results speak for themselves.”

'Ideal' home

This controlled environment removes the long daily treks and domestic chores that drain a student’s energy.

It also reduces community peer pressure and distractions from local shebeens, village events or negative neighbourhood influences, replacing them with a culture of collective academic ambition and full commitment.

"It is ideal to have all children in hostels; it creates a 'home away from home' where the only job a child has is to learn,” Nuunyango-George said.

According to Ohangwena education director Isak Hamatwi, there is an urgent need for hostels in the region.

"There is a massive need for boarding schools, but our existing ones are currently overcrowded," he said.

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