No delivery on promises
The Minister of Education Arts and Culture, Katrina Hanse-Himarwa is still expected to deliver on her promise to the Kavango West Region on the construction of schools and hostel facilities for education to thrive in the poorly performing region.
Namibian Sun earlier this year ran a story on how students from Rupara and Nkurenkuru combined schools in that region had to share government-subsidised hostels with livestock which the line ministry described unacceptable at the time.
Yesterday, the governor of the Kavango West Region, Sirkka Ausiku, told Namibian Sun that she requested Hanse-Himarwa during her visit to the region last year to prioritise the issues affecting the conduciveness of learning and teaching in the region.
Ausiku said she requested Hanse-Himarwa to ensure that Nkurenkuru has a fully-fledged secondary school with its own hostel facility and other demands related to education including a school for the San community in the Bravo settlement in Mpungu constituency.
Currently in Nkurenkuru there is no government-owned hostel facility as the only hostel facilities that exist belong to churches which are subsidised by government depending on the number of learners they accommodate.
Ausiku said the region is still waiting on the minister to deliver on her promise which will help the education sector in the region to grow and improve.
On the issue of teacher accommodation, Ausiku said she personally showed the minister the sites where many uncompleted teacher accommodation units were in the various constituencies, and asked that the minister enquire and explain as to why the construction process was not completed yet.
She said the population and the town of Nkurenkuru is growing fast and the need for schools has increased in rugency. The current schools can’t accommodate them all leaving some to be taught under trees.
“There is a need for schools and hostels in the region. The minister promised us last year when she came to us but nothing positive has come from her ministry yet,” Ausiku said during the interview.
While Namibian Sun is still waiting for a response from the office of the minister, the region’s education director, Mathaus Nauyoma said the schools are fairly good adding that they are evaluated depending on their lifespan.
Regarding the issue of hostel accommodation for learners, Nauyoma said they only subsidise the mission-managed hostels and cannot decide on how the affairs of those facilities are being run.
When asked whether the education directorate ensures that the hostels which are subsidised by the government are conducive for the learners to live in, he said it depends on the owners of the hostels.
“Our role is to link up subsidies to the hostels. The way the hostels are run depends on the owners not the ministry,” he said.
Regarding the situation of the lack of teacher housing, Nauyoma said it depends on the available funds as to how many teacher houses can be constructed in a financial year.
He said however with the limited funds, the issue of teacher is going to be addressed.
“The number of teacher houses to be constructed will depend on the budget,” he said.
KENYA KAMBOWE
Namibian Sun earlier this year ran a story on how students from Rupara and Nkurenkuru combined schools in that region had to share government-subsidised hostels with livestock which the line ministry described unacceptable at the time.
Yesterday, the governor of the Kavango West Region, Sirkka Ausiku, told Namibian Sun that she requested Hanse-Himarwa during her visit to the region last year to prioritise the issues affecting the conduciveness of learning and teaching in the region.
Ausiku said she requested Hanse-Himarwa to ensure that Nkurenkuru has a fully-fledged secondary school with its own hostel facility and other demands related to education including a school for the San community in the Bravo settlement in Mpungu constituency.
Currently in Nkurenkuru there is no government-owned hostel facility as the only hostel facilities that exist belong to churches which are subsidised by government depending on the number of learners they accommodate.
Ausiku said the region is still waiting on the minister to deliver on her promise which will help the education sector in the region to grow and improve.
On the issue of teacher accommodation, Ausiku said she personally showed the minister the sites where many uncompleted teacher accommodation units were in the various constituencies, and asked that the minister enquire and explain as to why the construction process was not completed yet.
She said the population and the town of Nkurenkuru is growing fast and the need for schools has increased in rugency. The current schools can’t accommodate them all leaving some to be taught under trees.
“There is a need for schools and hostels in the region. The minister promised us last year when she came to us but nothing positive has come from her ministry yet,” Ausiku said during the interview.
While Namibian Sun is still waiting for a response from the office of the minister, the region’s education director, Mathaus Nauyoma said the schools are fairly good adding that they are evaluated depending on their lifespan.
Regarding the issue of hostel accommodation for learners, Nauyoma said they only subsidise the mission-managed hostels and cannot decide on how the affairs of those facilities are being run.
When asked whether the education directorate ensures that the hostels which are subsidised by the government are conducive for the learners to live in, he said it depends on the owners of the hostels.
“Our role is to link up subsidies to the hostels. The way the hostels are run depends on the owners not the ministry,” he said.
Regarding the situation of the lack of teacher housing, Nauyoma said it depends on the available funds as to how many teacher houses can be constructed in a financial year.
He said however with the limited funds, the issue of teacher is going to be addressed.
“The number of teacher houses to be constructed will depend on the budget,” he said.
KENYA KAMBOWE
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