Kavango West tops exams but battles crumbling schools

Kavango West governor Verna Sinimbo has sounded the alarm over the region’s persistent infrastructure challenges in education, despite recent academic successes.In her state of the region address on Friday, the governor said 29 schools still lack permanent structures, 35 have no electricity, 12 lack access to water and 20 are severely dilapidated and require renovations and upgrades.“We will continue to engage the ministry of education for additional investments in classrooms, hostels, laboratories and school furniture,” Sinimbo vowed.Despite these challenges, Kavango West nevertheless emerged as the top-performing region in the 2024 Namibian Senior Secondary Certificate Advanced Subsidiary (NSSCAS) exams and ranked second in the Ordinary Level (NSSCO) results.Sinimbo credited this to “the dedication of our educators, the determination of our learners, and the steadfast support of our communities.”However, she cautioned that inadequate school infrastructure threatens these gains.Between 2024 and early 2025, the region constructed 68 new classrooms, three ablution blocks, and two water tank stands across schools, including Arawak Primary, Ruurumwe Primary, Alisha Combined, and Nkurenkuru Secondary Project School.Yet development continues to lag behind the needs of the region’s largely rural population of over 123 000.Progress achievedTo address these shortcomings, two new hostels are planned for Daniel Sitentu Mpasi Secondary School and Sharukwe School. At the same time, ICT and resource centres are being considered for the Ncamagoro and Nzinze education circuits, the governor said. Sinimbo thanked partners like Namdia and the Namibia Fish Consumption Promotion Trust for their funding of classrooms in the region. Sinimbo also announced that phases 1A and 1B of the Nkurenkuru Vocational Training Centre are nearing completion, with the first intake expected in January 2026.In early childhood education, a N$7.5 million model early childhood development centre was opened at Bravo Settlement in 2024, and 82 educators were added to the government subsidy scheme, raising the regional total to 165, Sinimbo added. “This initiative is appreciated, and we call on the ministry to add more educators,” she said.phillipus@nmh-hub.com.na

Kavango West tops exams but battles crumbling schools

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-28

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Kavango West tops exams but battles crumbling schools

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-28

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