Time change irrelevant, says Katrina

CATHERINE SASMAN



The Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture says whether the Namibia Time Bill is passed or not, school activities will continue undisturbed.

The ministry’s position was stated by Minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa before the parliamentary standing committee on foreign affairs, defence and security, which had been tasked to seek more views on the bill after the National Assembly could not reach consensus on it.

The bill was tabled by the minister of home affairs and immigration, Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana, in February. It aims to do away with the twice-yearly time changes and set a standard time zone for winter and summer.

Hanse-Himarwa told the hearing yesterday that the ministry had “acclimatised” to the time changes since the passing of the Namibia Time Act in 1994.

She said the ministry was “comfortable” with the different time zones and had never expressed any discontent.

“The fact of the matter is that time change has not been such an issue in education as much of the time considerations are made to the dynamics that exist on the ground. Whether we change time from winter to summer and vice versa, the point is that schools are guided to adjust time accordingly to suit their situations,” said Hanse-Himarwa.

During winter, schools in towns adjust their starting time from 07:00 to 07:30. Rural schools are allowed to start at 08:00. Schools that have double shifts are advised to start at 07:00.

In accordance with the Education Act of 2001 the minister is empowered to regulate the school calendar and hours of instruction.

Hanse-Himarwa said the ministry had considered the situation in all regions, with particular focus on the safety of pupils commuting to school and back.

The ministry had taken it upon itself to consult schools in all the regions about the bill, she told the committee.

Kunene, Omusati and Ohangwena agreed with the reintroduction of a standard time zone as proposed by the bill. The reason for that was because most schools in those regions were in rural areas where learners must walk long distances.

The Khomas Region, which serves as a consensus area, gave mixed feedback. Schools in the western part of Windhoek, as well as farm schools, were in support of time changes. They cited the long distances learners have to commute and the fact that many have to cross riverbeds or take taxis, while learners in farming areas are exposed to dangerous animals along the way.

Schools in Windhoek’s eastern neighbourhoods preferred no time change because their pupils were mostly dropped off and picked up from school. These schools also considered how time changes affected their extramural activities and double teaching shifts.

The Zambezi Region does not have time changes and schools there start an hour ahead of the rest of the country during winter.

All other regions did not want the winter and summer times to be abolished because many have double shifts and any change would inconvenience the afternoon shift.

KATRINA TAKES EXCEPTION

Hanse-Himarwa was peeved at the home affairs ministry, which reported last week that the education ministry was one of many ministries that had not responded to requests for input on the Time Bill.

She said it was not her ministry’s fault that the bill had not been passed by the National Assembly, but the failure of the home affairs ministry which had not consulted effectively.

Hanse-Himarwa said the home affairs ministry’s consultation strategies were “flawed” because it simply wrote memos, emails and letters to ministries and other agencies and then sat back and expected responses.

“If you want people to give their input then you must go down [to where they are] and not write letters and expect other people to do your job,” said Hanse-Himarwa.