Placement of learners in Khomas Region for the academic year 2015 15 January 2015, Windhoek, Namibia The Khomas Education Directorate is currently busy with the placement of learners in various grades, particularly Grade 1 and 8 where some learners remain unplaced. The Directorate, which is a decentralised branch of Khomas Regional Council, has achieved considerable progress in the placement of learners in the region, however some challenges remain. Among the challenges faced by the Directorate include the lack of school places for grade 1 and 8 as so far there are 1187 learners for grade 8 and 652 for grade 1 that are not yet placed as of Thursday, 14 January 2015. This number could increase as more parents rush to the Directorate offices to register their children that have not secured admission at any of the schools in the region. The lack of space for the said grades is mainly caused by the influx of learners from other regions for various reasons such as parents work transfer and job seekers who come with the children. The down-sizing and up- sizing of some classes has also resulted in a reduction of in-take at various schools while the high number of grade 8 repeaters has also created a challenge as they take up more classrooms. There are also less Secondary schools in the region as compared to Primary schools. There are 47 Government Primary schools and 29 Government high schools in Khomas Region, which created another challenge particularly in the Grade 8 placement. The placement problem is further worsened by some parents who are very selective of the schools where their children should be placed. What is the Directorate doing to address the situation? The Directorate of Education has been constructing classrooms in order to accommodate all children who, for various reasons, find themselves within the boundaries of Khomas Region. Below are figures illustrating the increase of learner numbers in the region over the past three years. Year Learner Number 2014 77024 2013 72186 2012 70416 (The region has seen an increase of about 8.6% in the number of learners while the space at newly constructed schools has remained at 1.5% only) The Khomas Directorate of Education is committed to ensure that each Namibian child is accommodated in school and provided with learning materials needed. The Directorate has, therefore, adopted a three- pronged approach to addressing the teaching space shortages within Khomas Region: Forty one (41) temporary structures, including tents as being the last option, will be erected to be used as classrooms, until such time that brick and mortar classrooms are constructed. These structures will cater for both grade 1 and 8 learners. Some of these structures will be constructed at Elim Primary School, Moses Garoëb Project School and Khomastura High School. Others will be foundation classrooms for three Project Schools to be created. These Immediate/Short Term Actions will be in place within the first three months of the year. Secondly, existing temporary structures in the form of tents will be replaced by assembling prefabricated materials as part of the Medium Term Interventions. Furthermore, some facilities such as drinking fountain, ablution and administration blocks will either be added or expanded at these structures as the need arises. Finally, all schools under construction in the region will be completed and learners and teachers at project schools will be relocated to the new school sites as part of the Long Term Strategies. The following schools have been planned and are at various stages of development. Constituency Name of School Stage of Development Moses Garoëb Constituency Havana SS Project • Feasibility study completed • Documentation stage pending • Issue of land to be finalised with City of Windhoek • School to commence as Project School attached to existing Havana PS Moses Garoëb Constituency Havana PS ( existing Moses Garoëb Project School) • Feasibility study completed • At documentation stage Khomasdal Otjomuise SS Project • Feasibility study to commence • School to commence as Project School attached to Cimbebasia PS Otjomuise PS • Phase 1 of the new school nearly completed • Existing school to move to new site and another primary school to be established at old site Otjomuise SS (Chinese grant) • Construction commenced and January 2016 set as intended completion date Tobias Hainyeko Tobias Hainyeko Combined Project School • School not yet included in MTEF • School to be established as Project School upon identification and acquisition of appropriate piece of land Windhoek Rural Mix Settlement PS • Feasibility study completed • Documentation stage pending • Investigating possibility of establishing 1 or 2 grade 1 class groups upon identification of suitable venue Currently the Directorate is busy assisting parents to register their children who have not secured school places yet. All parents who are looking for grade 8 places for their children should go to Immanuel Shifidi HS Hall where they will be assisted by the Officials of the Directorate. This process started on Wednesday, 14 January 2015 and will continue for as long as necessary. For the grade 1 learners, parents are advised to go to the Soccer House in Katutura, opposite St Barnabas Primary School, next to the big shops (Groot Winkels) as from Friday, 16 January 2015 up to 23 January 2015. Education officials will be there to assist them from 8:00 to 12:00 on weekdays. As from Thursday, 15 January 2015 up to 22 January 2015, the Directorate will conduct a head count at various schools in order to verify available places for grade 1 and 8. If spaces become available during the exercise, learners will be placed as from 26 January 2015 at various schools. Therefore, parents are urged to send their children to school, to avoid such learners from forfeiting their school places. If there are parents whose children are not placed by 28 January 2015 they should enquire with the Education Officials at the Khomas Directorate of Education.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 09:31:58 +0000
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