Katrina Hanse-Himarwa to fix school hours
Basic education minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa will now intervene and prescribe fixed starting and ending times for government schools during winter, following inaction by some schools.
“I have observed that if schools are to be left to decide based on local circumstances we may have a lost situation. So I have intervened and directed, as per the mandate of the Education Act, that all schools have standard (starting and ending) times in winter, as well as in summer, as was the case when the Namibian Time Act of 1994 was still in place,” said Hanse-Himarwa.
The new fixed school hours would now be decided and publicised soon, she said.
Earlier this year the ministry announced school hours will be set on a case-by-case basis, with decisions being made on merit, in terms of which schools qualify to start later in winter.
At the time, schools had been instructed to motivate why they need to adjust their hours during winter, despite the abolition of winter time by parliament.
However, some schools continued as normal and as a result some learners have been forced to walk to school while it is still dark.
Hanse-Himarwa's decision to intervene comes after numerous complaints from parents that their children are leaving for school when it is still very dark and unsafe. Parliament last year passed the new Namibian Time Act, which repealed the 1994 legislation and set the country's standard time throughout the year to two hours in advance of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT +2).
JEMIMA BEUKES
“I have observed that if schools are to be left to decide based on local circumstances we may have a lost situation. So I have intervened and directed, as per the mandate of the Education Act, that all schools have standard (starting and ending) times in winter, as well as in summer, as was the case when the Namibian Time Act of 1994 was still in place,” said Hanse-Himarwa.
The new fixed school hours would now be decided and publicised soon, she said.
Earlier this year the ministry announced school hours will be set on a case-by-case basis, with decisions being made on merit, in terms of which schools qualify to start later in winter.
At the time, schools had been instructed to motivate why they need to adjust their hours during winter, despite the abolition of winter time by parliament.
However, some schools continued as normal and as a result some learners have been forced to walk to school while it is still dark.
Hanse-Himarwa's decision to intervene comes after numerous complaints from parents that their children are leaving for school when it is still very dark and unsafe. Parliament last year passed the new Namibian Time Act, which repealed the 1994 legislation and set the country's standard time throughout the year to two hours in advance of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT +2).
JEMIMA BEUKES
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