Too few secondary schools in Gobabis
The limited number of secondary schools in Gobabis continues to pose a challenge for the regional education directorate.
Gobabis, the Omaheke Region's main economic centre, only has two secondary schools which have been battling to cope with the high number of learners coming from primary schools.
Omaheke's education director, Peka Semba in an interview with Nampa said the town has five primary schools which feed the secondary schools.
The situation has led to an unhealthy learning environment as the two secondary schools are filled to the brim with learners, exceeding their legal intake ceiling.
The two schools - Epako Secondary School and Wennie Du Plessis Secondary School - currently have 1 200 and 1 000 learners respectively.
Epako was built to only accommodate 600 learners, while Wennie Du Plessis was meant to cater for 700 learners, Semba said.
He said the ministry has already submitted its proposal to the National Planning Commission for a third school in the town to solve the problem, but the process could take some time before coming to fruition.
“We have a real problem on our hands; one that we have been battling for years. We are however hopeful that once a new secondary school is constructed, the problem will be solved,” he said.
Semba said the matter is made more complex by parents choosing to send their children to Gobabis from rural schools, instead of considering schools available in their areas. He said this is propelled by the false impression that schools in urban areas offer better education than those in rural settings.
“There is a school in just about all other six constituencies of the region outside Gobabis, so there is no justification to send a child from Otjinene if there is a secondary school just next to the primary school the learner attended,” said Semba. The education director called on parents to desist from the practice, as it places undue strain on the directorate in placing these learners into the two secondary schools available.
Nampa last year reported how learners at Epako were forced to work from the floor due to a shortage of desks and chairs as a result of overcrowding.
Although the situation has since improved, they are not out of the woods yet and overcrowding still prevails.
Moreover, Semba added that the education ministry will upgrade and renovate facilities at two schools' hostels this year.
He said the upgrading of the facilities, which are in a dilapidated state, will enhance teaching and learning and raise the morale of the learners residing in these hostels.
The upgrading of hostel facilities at the Ernst Meyer Primary School and the Epukiro Post 3 Junior Secondary School will start soon.
Ernst Meyer is located some 45 kilometres east of Gobabis along the Trans-Kalahari Highway, while the Epukiro Post 3 Secondary School is located at the settlement with the same name, some 130km east of Gobabis in the Epukiro Constituency.
Semba said funding for the renovation of the two facilities will come from the African Development Bank.
Although he could not state the total cost of the project, Semba said both existing hostels will be demolished to make way for the construction of modern facilities.
“It is something that we welcome a lot in our region due to the current state of infrastructure at these two hostels,” he said.
While Ernst Meyer is in a better position, learners at Epukiro Post 3 hostel are forced to sleep in dormitories with broken windows and there are also not enough beds.
Toilet facilities are also damaged, as they are mostly blocked or drainage pipes leak.
Semba called on learners and hostel staff to guard against wastage of water and electricity at government hostels across the region.
The director said water and electricity bills for the facilities are exorbitant and the regional education directorate is forced to fork out the money to keep these facilities running.
“We will monitor the usage closely and enforce punitive measures where negligence is found to be the cause of these high bills,” he said.
He said the general culture of vandalism and ignorance when it comes to government property also has to stop, as those found guilty of such wastage will be made to account for their actions.
He noted that money saved from such wastage could be put into the betterment of actual teaching and learning, which is the core function of the ministry.
NAMPA
Gobabis, the Omaheke Region's main economic centre, only has two secondary schools which have been battling to cope with the high number of learners coming from primary schools.
Omaheke's education director, Peka Semba in an interview with Nampa said the town has five primary schools which feed the secondary schools.
The situation has led to an unhealthy learning environment as the two secondary schools are filled to the brim with learners, exceeding their legal intake ceiling.
The two schools - Epako Secondary School and Wennie Du Plessis Secondary School - currently have 1 200 and 1 000 learners respectively.
Epako was built to only accommodate 600 learners, while Wennie Du Plessis was meant to cater for 700 learners, Semba said.
He said the ministry has already submitted its proposal to the National Planning Commission for a third school in the town to solve the problem, but the process could take some time before coming to fruition.
“We have a real problem on our hands; one that we have been battling for years. We are however hopeful that once a new secondary school is constructed, the problem will be solved,” he said.
Semba said the matter is made more complex by parents choosing to send their children to Gobabis from rural schools, instead of considering schools available in their areas. He said this is propelled by the false impression that schools in urban areas offer better education than those in rural settings.
“There is a school in just about all other six constituencies of the region outside Gobabis, so there is no justification to send a child from Otjinene if there is a secondary school just next to the primary school the learner attended,” said Semba. The education director called on parents to desist from the practice, as it places undue strain on the directorate in placing these learners into the two secondary schools available.
Nampa last year reported how learners at Epako were forced to work from the floor due to a shortage of desks and chairs as a result of overcrowding.
Although the situation has since improved, they are not out of the woods yet and overcrowding still prevails.
Moreover, Semba added that the education ministry will upgrade and renovate facilities at two schools' hostels this year.
He said the upgrading of the facilities, which are in a dilapidated state, will enhance teaching and learning and raise the morale of the learners residing in these hostels.
The upgrading of hostel facilities at the Ernst Meyer Primary School and the Epukiro Post 3 Junior Secondary School will start soon.
Ernst Meyer is located some 45 kilometres east of Gobabis along the Trans-Kalahari Highway, while the Epukiro Post 3 Secondary School is located at the settlement with the same name, some 130km east of Gobabis in the Epukiro Constituency.
Semba said funding for the renovation of the two facilities will come from the African Development Bank.
Although he could not state the total cost of the project, Semba said both existing hostels will be demolished to make way for the construction of modern facilities.
“It is something that we welcome a lot in our region due to the current state of infrastructure at these two hostels,” he said.
While Ernst Meyer is in a better position, learners at Epukiro Post 3 hostel are forced to sleep in dormitories with broken windows and there are also not enough beds.
Toilet facilities are also damaged, as they are mostly blocked or drainage pipes leak.
Semba called on learners and hostel staff to guard against wastage of water and electricity at government hostels across the region.
The director said water and electricity bills for the facilities are exorbitant and the regional education directorate is forced to fork out the money to keep these facilities running.
“We will monitor the usage closely and enforce punitive measures where negligence is found to be the cause of these high bills,” he said.
He said the general culture of vandalism and ignorance when it comes to government property also has to stop, as those found guilty of such wastage will be made to account for their actions.
He noted that money saved from such wastage could be put into the betterment of actual teaching and learning, which is the core function of the ministry.
NAMPA
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