N$6.4m for hostel

The government has allocated N$6.4 million for the construction of a school hostel at Omungwelume Senior Secondary School in the Ohangwena Region. Regional governor Usko Nghaamwa has been raising funds for the school, whose learners have been living in shacks without adult supervision. The ministry of works and transport handed over the construction site to contractors last week. The aim is to have the hostel ready by the beginning of the next academic year. According to the works inspector for the Ohangwena regional council, Absai Mufeti, the N$7 million project is now a joint venture between the government and the community of Omungwelume. “Construction work will start as soon as possible and we would like the hostel to be ready by the beginning of the next academic year. The project consists of hostel blocks that will accommodate 123 girls and 123 boys, a kitchen, ablution facilities, hostel caretakers' accommodation, a boundary wall, a sewer system, fresh water supply and electrification,” Mufeti said. “Regional works and maintenance will be principal agent and they will be maintaining and supervising the work together with the regional directorate of education. Contractors are urged to work faster, but no substandard work will be allowed.” Speaking on behalf of the community of Omungwelume, the former governor for Oshana region, Silvanus Vatuva, commended Nghaamwa for his efforts to help the school's pupils. “When he (Nghaamwa) started this project, we didn't know that the government would support it. He tried many attempts that failed, but he never gave up and today here we are, the government has taken over from him,” Vatuva said. Nghaamwa said all he wants is to make sure that the children of Namibia receive a good education so that they will become responsible citizens without blaming anybody.“By creating a good school environment, we are making sure that learners will study hard and they will become productive members of the society, and they will be able to assist in nation-building,” Nghaamwa said. He started assisting the learners of Omungwelume with donations in 2017. In June this year the school, in collaboration with Nghaamwa's office, hosted a fundraising dinner to raise money for the construction of a hostel. The event raised N$509 100 in cash and 263 bags of cement. These donations will complement the 58 000 bricks that have already been delivered to the school by Nghaamwa's office. According to principal George Nanghanda, the school has 581 learners in grades 10, 11 and 12 this year. Last year Nghaamwa ordered that 118 pupils be accommodated at a rundown property bought by the Ohangwena regional council. But Ohangwena chief regional officer Fillipus Shilongo then instructed education director Isak Hamatwi to find suitable alternative accommodation for the learners. Shilongo said the property at Omungwelume, for which the government had paid N$6 million, was not bought so it could be used as a school hostel. Nghaamwa, through his office, used money donated to his office by Fishcor to buy over 58 000 bricks to support the hostel construction.Concerned parents say Ohangwena is vast and the non-boarding school is taking in learners from all corners of the region - a situation that forces learners to take any available accommodation. Grade 10 learners from as far as Okongo, Oshikunde, Epembe, Omundaungilo, Omauni, Ekoka and many other far-flung places are renting accommodation at Omungwelume to attend school there. ILENI NANDJATO

N$6.4m for hostel

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Namibian Sun 2026-02-03

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N$6.4m for hostel

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Namibian Sun 2026-02-03

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