Mass hysteria strikes another school

Chaos erupted at Shikeva Combined School in the Ongha circuit in Ohangwena yesterday morning during the year-end examinations. Learners fell to the ground in apparent fits of mass hysteria.Yesterday morning during the assembly, 21 learners from grades 1 to 9 started having episodes making them scream, roll on the floor and flail. According to a well-placed source at the school, the affected learners from these grades are the smart and well-performing students and thus, the theory of children 'misbehaving' fearing evaluations and tests does not hold true. “It is the learners that usually get first and second positions in their classes so it is not as though they are 'acting out' for being fearful of exams. All of the children are screaming the same thing. They are saying 'my name is [a villager's name] and I will not get out of your body'. It is very strange that all 21 learners are mentioning one person's name,” said the source. The situation of learners having hysterical episodes at the school started earlier this year with more than 20 episodes recorded from the second trimester alone. According to the principal Abner Haiduwa, two learners a day was the most that presented these symptoms but, the numbers increased as time went by. The parents of the learners expressed their shocked and concern. They believe witchcraft is involved. “We released the younger children first as they were terrified and were crying before we called the parents of the learners having the seizures,” he said. Classes were suspended and are expected to resume today. Haiduwa said the authorities have been informed but the school has been told to refer to circulars from the ministry. “These things are real and have an effect on our performance as a school. We notified the ministry but they didn't show up. They told us to send the children home. We are scared and we don't know what to do with this matter,” said Haiduwa. The grade 10 learners proceeded with their examinations uninterrupted although the principal is worried about how the school's performance will be affected. “The grade 10 learners went into the hall immediately after the incident and we can only hope for the best. We will call a meeting with the parents to find a way forward. We would like the ministry to step in and if there are members of the public who can assist us they are more than welcome,” he said. When the education director for Ohangwena, Isak Hamatwi was contacted he told Namibian Sun the situation is “not new and there is nothing much that can be done”. “There is no genuine [medical] diagnosis that has been conducted from any of the reported cases. We can only have the parents collect their children,” he said. There have been several cases of mass hysteria in Namibian schools over the years.

Mass hysteria strikes another school

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-17

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Mass hysteria strikes another school

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-17

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