A.I. Steenkamp board resigns
The chairman of the A.I. Steenkamp school board Helster Gawanab told Namibian Sun it has taken 17 months for the education ministry to respond.
The board of A.I. Steenkamp Primary School has resigned en masse citing a non-committal attitude by the Ministry of Education to investigate alleged malpractices at the school.
The board chairman Helster Gawanab told Namibian Sun that it has taken the ministry, “17 months” to intervene. The teachers have also demanded that the principal Rudolphine Kamahene be removed.
According to the Gawanab he has resigned for the sake of the “Namibian child” and can no longer stand the state of affairs at the school.
“I do not want to be judged for what is happening at the school. I will not tolerate unlawfulness,” he said.
He added that the board has not received concrete feedback despite several meetings with education officials as well as the ministry's promise that a decision would be taken by Friday last week.
Two weeks ago, the disgruntled teachers boycotted teaching claiming the school is mismanaged under the leadership of Kamahene.
Although the Khomas education director Gerard Vries told Namibian Sun that a statement would be issued by Friday regarding the fate of the school management, this however, did not materialise.
Efforts to get a comment from Vries and the ministry's public relations officer Johanna Absalom were fruitless and both did not answer calls. Both telephone numbers for education permanent secretary, Sanet Steenkamp were also not reachable.
Meanwhile the Teachers Union of Namibia (TUN) president Kahongoro Kavihuha has accused the Khomas education directorate of bullying aggrieved teachers instead of addressing their problems.
According to Kavihuha, the situation at the A.I. Steenkamp Primary School is a manifestation of how the ministry treats grievances throughout the country.
“The rules are clear; it must take only five days for the ministry to start dealing with a reported grievance. But what we see now is that the investigator tends to target the initiator of the grievance instead of dealing with the problem,” he said.
JEMIMA BEUKES
The board chairman Helster Gawanab told Namibian Sun that it has taken the ministry, “17 months” to intervene. The teachers have also demanded that the principal Rudolphine Kamahene be removed.
According to the Gawanab he has resigned for the sake of the “Namibian child” and can no longer stand the state of affairs at the school.
“I do not want to be judged for what is happening at the school. I will not tolerate unlawfulness,” he said.
He added that the board has not received concrete feedback despite several meetings with education officials as well as the ministry's promise that a decision would be taken by Friday last week.
Two weeks ago, the disgruntled teachers boycotted teaching claiming the school is mismanaged under the leadership of Kamahene.
Although the Khomas education director Gerard Vries told Namibian Sun that a statement would be issued by Friday regarding the fate of the school management, this however, did not materialise.
Efforts to get a comment from Vries and the ministry's public relations officer Johanna Absalom were fruitless and both did not answer calls. Both telephone numbers for education permanent secretary, Sanet Steenkamp were also not reachable.
Meanwhile the Teachers Union of Namibia (TUN) president Kahongoro Kavihuha has accused the Khomas education directorate of bullying aggrieved teachers instead of addressing their problems.
According to Kavihuha, the situation at the A.I. Steenkamp Primary School is a manifestation of how the ministry treats grievances throughout the country.
“The rules are clear; it must take only five days for the ministry to start dealing with a reported grievance. But what we see now is that the investigator tends to target the initiator of the grievance instead of dealing with the problem,” he said.
JEMIMA BEUKES
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