Schlip ‘hostellites’ stranded

Jemima Beukes - Elizabeth JosephWINDHOEKAbout 24 vulnerable learners from Windhoek have been left stranded after the Pioneer Junior Secondary School at Schlip, a village south-west of Rehoboth, closed its hostel for about four months for renovations.According to officials at the gender equality and child welfare after-school centre in Grysblok, who spoke on condition of anonymity, they were completely in the dark about these developments and arrived to closed doors on Tuesday morning.“They did not inform us at all. We only found out when we arrived there with the learners. We understand they are supposed to hold a meeting with the stakeholders to discuss the closure, but we were not informed.“So now we don’t know what to do next. Some of the learners are back home with their families,” the staff member said.Acting principal Madelein Angermund said she only took over at the school this year, and could not comment on the hostel’s closure.Uncertain futureWhen Namibian Sun arrived at the after school-centre on Wednesday, many learners sat outside the building worrying about their future as they had no idea how the disruption would affect them.Some of the adults who accompanied them said they were very worried, because these learners were from disadvantaged households and could not afford to have any disruption to their education.Meanwhile, some of the learners are ‘street kids’, and are often forced to beg for food and money after school. A disruption like this may put them even further at risk, staff members said.“What we are doing here is to make sure they do not go to the streets at all, therefore we try to find them schools outside Windhoek that have hostels so that they are not at risk of returning to the streets.”jemima@namibiansun.comelizabeth@myzone.com.na

Schlip ‘hostellites’ stranded

Comments

Namibian Sun 2026-06-04

Please login to leave a comment

Schlip ‘hostellites’ stranded

Comments

Namibian Sun 2026-06-04

Please login to leave a comment

Subscription Required to Access Content ×

Login

Subscription Required to Access Content