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Namibia: Learning Under Canvas
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The Namibian (Windhoek)
11 April 2008
Posted to the web 11 April 2008
Tanja Bause
Windhoek
In an effort to accommodate Grade 1 and Grade 8 pupils who could not find places in schools, Government erected school tents in Katutura which are fully furnished and have portable toilet facilities.
The Grade 1 tent school is called the Moses Garoëb Project School, which is temporarily on the premises of the primary school with the same name. There are six tent classes, which currently accommodate about 220 pupils. The tents are water-resistant and pitched on cement slabs, which ensured that the recent heavy rains did not disrupt classes.
Heat is a big problem though, as the tents do not allow for sufficient airflow and especially the synthetic tents tend to get extremely stuffy. The principal and teachers of the school use their imagination and improvise to make the lessons for pupils as pleasant as possible. A piece of string and clothes pegs hold up the posters that are taped to the walls in other schools. There is no school bell and Principal Myra Griqua uses a whistle to signal the end of periods.
Although there are many challenges and the tent school is not a long-term solution, it is the best option for the time being and the children are at least off the street, in school and learning. The Hage Geingob Project School for Grade 8 is situated a bit further away on an open piece of land. It has 10 classrooms which accommodate 390 pupils. Government plans to put up permanent structures by the end of the year.
When these buildings are completed, the tent schools will hopefully be a thing of the past.
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"By the end of this year of even earlier we will have permanent structures in place," promises the Director of Education in the Khomas Region, Claudia Tjikuua.
I am heartened to see the government responding to the needs of the people of Katutura by the erection of these temporary facilities for the children. J Norris Mahwah, NJ USA
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