Swakopmund moves to ease school placement pressure

Education authorities in Swakopmund are working to ease growing pressure on local schools through the establishment of a new school in Tamariskia while also managing ongoing learner placement challenges at both primary and secondary levels.

Education inspector for the Swakopmund circuit, Chris Eixab, has confirmed plans to establish a new school as part of efforts to respond to increasing learner demand in the area.

“We have requested the establishment of a new school, and we have identified one of the local schools in Tamariskia,” Eixab said in an interview. “We will be hosting a new establishment whereby that particular school will start with Grades 1 to 3 this year.”

According to Eixab, Grade 1 to 3 classes are ready to resume but are awaiting the appointment of teachers. Classes are expected to begin once the recruitment process has been finalised.

Managing placements

Beyond the lower primary level, Eixab highlighted challenges at the secondary level, particularly with the placement of Grade 8 learners.

“One of the challenges we have is with Grade 8, our own learners,” he explained. “It appears that we have fewer Grade 7 learners in comparison to Grade 8, so secondary schools are experiencing difficulties in absorbing all the learners.”

He said the imbalance has placed strain on secondary schools, limiting their ability to accommodate all eligible learners.

To manage the situation, the circuit has prioritised placing learners within local schools where possible. “What we have done is prioritise our own local schools to place those learners,” Eixab said, adding that a small group of learners still needs to be accommodated.

The circuit is also dealing with requests from parents seeking placement for learners transferring between grades or schools. Eixab said a structured system is in place to manage these applications.

“What we normally do is keep a record list,” he explained. “All parents who come to us are captured on the system, after which we obtain statistics from the schools. If we see that there are available spaces, we place the learners.”

He emphasised that learner placement remains an ongoing process, dependent on available space and accurate data from schools across the circuit.