Up to 10 years' wait for a spot at Eluwa school

Learners with intellectual impairment placed on Eluwa Resource School’s waiting list today may have to wait up to ten years before getting a space and many will age out before their name is ever called.

This stark reality was shared by Eluwa principal Loide Shipopyeni last Thursday, when the school received toiletry packs worth N$50 000 from Maria Fishing Company.

Shipopyeni told Namibian Sun that the school has a waiting list of 600 but can only admit 64 for the next academic year due to severe space constraints. Eluwa caters for children with hearing, visual and intellectual impairments.

"Learners with intellectual impairment often stay at the same school for many years, sometimes their whole school career, because there is nowhere else for them to go," she explained.

"If only a handful of seats open each year, a child added to the waiting list today may wait five, eight or ten years. For most of those 600 families, the waiting list really means no place," Shipopyeni said.

The long wait robs children of the most critical early years for building communication, self-care, social skills and basic literacy and numeracy, she added.

A child who waits at home does not simply start later but starts further behind, with gaps that are much harder to address at age 12 than at age six.

Shipopyeni indicated that the pressure is also felt by staff, who have to turn away desperate parents every day.

No alternative

Shipopyeni said most children on the list remain at home, often alone or with a grandparent, with little stimulation. Many are kept indoors due to stigma or lack of safe supervision, as mainstream classrooms cannot support them. This isolation, she warned, puts them at a much higher risk of abuse, neglect and exploitation.

She called for urgent interventions, including expanding the school with more classrooms and hostel accommodation, establishing offices to collect proper data on children with intellectual impairment and supporting community-based day care centres for those on the waiting list.

She also said technical support for inclusive education, such as specialised teaching aids, sensory equipment, adapted books, assistive devices and continuous professional development, is needed.

An honourable profession

Shipopyeni described the daily challenges for teachers as immense. Some learners are non-verbal or have limited speech, requiring teachers to read behaviour and gestures to understand pain or distress. A large part of the day is taken up assisting with toileting and hygiene.

"Specialised teaching aids, sensory equipment, adapted books and assistive devices are scarce, so teachers improvise and often buy or make materials themselves. The work is intense, progress is slow and hard to see, and burnout is common," she said.

Yet teamwork keeps them going.

"We share ideas, cover for each other during hard moments, and celebrate together. No one carries the load alone, from the principal down to the supporting staff," she said.

At Eluwa, success is not measured by exam results but by independence.

"When a learner says their name for the first time, uses the toilet independently, buttons their own shirt, or reads a simple word after months of practice, the whole staff celebrates. Our learners are honest, affectionate and joyful. They greet us with hugs and smiles," she said.

A gift, not a burden

She said the biggest reward is seeing families transform when parents who once hid their children begin to speak proudly of them.

"All children are a gift from our creator. Your child is not a burden, a punishment, or a cause for shame. They may learn differently and more slowly, but they do learn, they do grow, and they deserve the same love, dignity and opportunities as any other child," Shipopyeni told parents.

She added that their children may not become doctors or engineers, but they can become people who are loved, who contribute, who find joy, and who live with as much independence as they can.