Overcrowded, underfunded schools 'unacceptable', Amupanda says
‘Entire generation risks being left behind’
Job Amupanda says his visit to schools in the Kavango and Zambezi regions has highlighted critical shortcomings in education leadership and resource allocation.
Affirmative Repositioning (AR) leader Job Amupanda has criticised Namibia’s education system for failing to keep pace with population growth, leading to dire learning conditions.
Speaking to Namibian Sun in Rundu this week, Amupanda noted that Windhoek is the country’s most populous city, followed by Rundu, yet schools in high-population areas remain under-resourced.
He raised these concerns and criticisms following a week-long visit to schools in the Kavango and Zambezi regions. In Rundu, he visited Ndama East, a school with 552 learners from pre-primary to Grade 6 and only 14 qualified teachers.
Most lessons are undertaken beneath trees due to a lack of classrooms, while the absence of running water, electricity and toilets forces learners and teachers to use the bush.
“I couldn’t believe it at first. You think you are in Namibia, but 552 learners are being taught under trees with no basic facilities. This is unacceptable,” Amupanda said.
No progress
Parents at Ndama East also voiced frustration over repeated visits from ministers, councillors and officials that have brought no meaningful change.
Several parents claimed that government continues to prioritise well-maintained schools while neglecting those most in need.
Amupanda pointed to the stark contrast between schools closing in some regions due to low enrolment and overcrowded schools in Rundu, saying it symbolises the systemic failure in education planning.
“Planning should match where the learners are. Here, it doesn’t,” he said, adding that the situation reflected broader shortcomings in education leadership and resource allocation.
He also criticised the tendency of officials to showcase well-maintained schools during visits while neglecting those in urgent need. One elderly parent even asked him to relay a message to the prime minister, urging leadership to witness the conditions first-hand.
Amupanda called for urgent intervention to ensure learners in high-population areas receive adequate support and access to proper facilities. “If nothing changes, an entire generation risks being left behind,” he warned.
Unbearable conditions
Last week, a Namibian Sun report noted that struggling and under-resourced schools across the Kavango regions are forcing learners and teachers to rely on pit latrines as their only form of sanitation, while hundreds of children share overcrowded classrooms.
The report covered findings from a tour of Kavango West and East schools by the parliamentary standing committee on education, youth, civic relations and community development, which acknowledged some positive aspects but warned that current conditions hinder service delivery and violate learners’ dignity.
At Ngcove Junior Primary School in Ndama, Kavango East, more than 400 learners share just two pit latrines and have no access to running water.
Principal Bernolda Munkanda described the situation as “unbearable”, pointing to classrooms crammed with up to 92 learners in corrugated-iron structures.
Many other schools are plagued by similar conditions.
Slow task
In April, Kavango East education director Christine Shilima acknowledged the region’s severe infrastructure crisis, citing dilapidated classrooms and a shortage of bathrooms at overcrowded schools.
She warned that resolving the crisis could take more than five years, pointing to Sikanduko Junior Primary in Rundu, where more than 1 000 learners were forced to attend lessons outside after heavy rainfall left classrooms leaking.
Shilima said the ministry is building a new senior secondary school to ease overcrowding, but immediate concerns remain unresolved. “We cannot yet say how many classrooms will be available, as we first need to complete the relocation,” she noted.
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Speaking to Namibian Sun in Rundu this week, Amupanda noted that Windhoek is the country’s most populous city, followed by Rundu, yet schools in high-population areas remain under-resourced.
He raised these concerns and criticisms following a week-long visit to schools in the Kavango and Zambezi regions. In Rundu, he visited Ndama East, a school with 552 learners from pre-primary to Grade 6 and only 14 qualified teachers.
Most lessons are undertaken beneath trees due to a lack of classrooms, while the absence of running water, electricity and toilets forces learners and teachers to use the bush.
“I couldn’t believe it at first. You think you are in Namibia, but 552 learners are being taught under trees with no basic facilities. This is unacceptable,” Amupanda said.
No progress
Parents at Ndama East also voiced frustration over repeated visits from ministers, councillors and officials that have brought no meaningful change.
Several parents claimed that government continues to prioritise well-maintained schools while neglecting those most in need.
Amupanda pointed to the stark contrast between schools closing in some regions due to low enrolment and overcrowded schools in Rundu, saying it symbolises the systemic failure in education planning.
“Planning should match where the learners are. Here, it doesn’t,” he said, adding that the situation reflected broader shortcomings in education leadership and resource allocation.
He also criticised the tendency of officials to showcase well-maintained schools during visits while neglecting those in urgent need. One elderly parent even asked him to relay a message to the prime minister, urging leadership to witness the conditions first-hand.
Amupanda called for urgent intervention to ensure learners in high-population areas receive adequate support and access to proper facilities. “If nothing changes, an entire generation risks being left behind,” he warned.
Unbearable conditions
Last week, a Namibian Sun report noted that struggling and under-resourced schools across the Kavango regions are forcing learners and teachers to rely on pit latrines as their only form of sanitation, while hundreds of children share overcrowded classrooms.
The report covered findings from a tour of Kavango West and East schools by the parliamentary standing committee on education, youth, civic relations and community development, which acknowledged some positive aspects but warned that current conditions hinder service delivery and violate learners’ dignity.
At Ngcove Junior Primary School in Ndama, Kavango East, more than 400 learners share just two pit latrines and have no access to running water.
Principal Bernolda Munkanda described the situation as “unbearable”, pointing to classrooms crammed with up to 92 learners in corrugated-iron structures.
Many other schools are plagued by similar conditions.
Slow task
In April, Kavango East education director Christine Shilima acknowledged the region’s severe infrastructure crisis, citing dilapidated classrooms and a shortage of bathrooms at overcrowded schools.
She warned that resolving the crisis could take more than five years, pointing to Sikanduko Junior Primary in Rundu, where more than 1 000 learners were forced to attend lessons outside after heavy rainfall left classrooms leaking.
Shilima said the ministry is building a new senior secondary school to ease overcrowding, but immediate concerns remain unresolved. “We cannot yet say how many classrooms will be available, as we first need to complete the relocation,” she noted.
[email protected]
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