Tent classrooms are back as enrolments surge

Tent classrooms are being reintroduced in some schools to accommodate growing enrolments driven by urban migration, the education ministry has confirmed.

Speaking during a back-to-school briefing ahead of the new academic year, education minister Sanet Steenkamp said the tents are a temporary measure while permanent classrooms are constructed.

“Just this morning, they’re busy delivering tents to some schools in Khomas because Khomas does not want to do the platoon system," the minister said.

The platoon system is a stopgap measure to ease school overcrowding by rotating groups of learners through shared classrooms in morning and afternoon sessions.

Steenkamp said the use of tents allows the ministry to manage immediate pressure while ensuring that ongoing projects are completed.

"So now the tent option has become one that we can explore while we also ensure that the construction that we are busy with is completed in a given time frame,” she said.

The minister said government continues to invest in permanent school infrastructure through annual capital budget allocations to regions, supported by an accelerated development plan prioritising sanitation, water, electricity and classroom construction.

“That is when you send the money for basic construction of toilets, classrooms and renovations to the regions,” she said. “Across the regions, schools are being constructed.”

Progress underlined

She cited the newly built Cuba Primary School in the Khomas region as an example, saying it is already accommodating about 800 learners, with teachers and principals appointed.

“You can’t also appoint teachers if we do not have the facilities to teach,” she noted.

The minister said several regions have opted to consolidate infrastructure funding to build complete schools rather than scattered classrooms.

“There are deliberate efforts by government to ensure that the gap between makeshift classrooms and permanent classrooms is reduced so that we have more accessible permanent classrooms for our learners,” she added.

Bribery, gifts not an option

Steenkamp noted that infrastructure constraints have been compounded by continued pressure on school admissions, particularly in urban areas.

She reiterated that admissions are planned well in advance and warned against attempts to influence placements through bribery.

“As an education sector, you plan on an annual basis. By June or July, the parents must know where my child will be attending school. In September of the previous year, parents were already supposed to know where their child had a place,” she said.

The minister added that admission committees operate at regional, circuit and school levels to ensure fair placement based on available space and language requirements, especially for Grade 1 learners.

However, Steenkamp said the ministry is aware of cases in which parents offer gifts or money due to anxiety over securing a place at school for their child.

“My message to the education fraternity is unambiguous. Nobody should take any form of bribe or a gift to return that with a favour to find a child a school,” she said.

She added that while the government has a responsibility to place learners, parents also have a duty to apply on time.

“We still have parents that put tremendous pressure on the regional directorates and admission committees simply because many parents are moving from one town to another,” she said.

Learning poverty at the core

Beyond infrastructure and admissions, Steenkamp said the ministry’s central concern remains learning outcomes, particularly in the early grades.

“We’ve made a Grade 3 assessment, and we know now that across the 14 regions, the situation does not look good in terms of reading and basic numeracy,” she confirmed.

“At least seven out of 10 children in Namibia, 10 years old, cannot read a comprehensive English text or do basic mathematics.”

She said the ministry has rolled out interventions to address learning poverty, including continuous professional development for teachers from pre-grade to Grade 3.

“We've started with capacitating and enhancing the learning, the monitoring and evaluation of our heads of departments," she said.

"There are Jolly Phonics, there are specific courses, there’s teaching at the right level, early grade reading and early grade mathematics measures."

Steenkamp said these interventions are being implemented in both mother tongues and English.

“Our focus is to address the end of learning poverty, where children cannot read or write. If we build that foundation and invest correctly in our teachers and encourage parents to expose children to reading material at home, we can go quite far,” she noted.

Shared responsibility

Steenkamp said improving education outcomes requires discipline and accountability across the system, from school leadership to parents and learners.

“The principal fulfils a critical role. A principal has authority and must use that authority in the best way possible, enforcing policies and ensuring a culture of discipline, care, and proper communication,” she said.

Teachers, she said, remain central to the education system and are expected to be present physically and psychologically, well prepared and to ensure discipline is enforced with the greatest respect.

Parents, she said, are the first educators, and that discipline must already be fostered at home.

She called for improved planning, faster execution and sustained stakeholder engagement throughout the academic year.

Moreover, the minister urged parents, communities, the private sector and public servants to remain engaged.