THE Hage Geingob Project tent school in Windhoek might be a thing of the past in the next school year.

A brand new school is being built next to the tents, which easily accommodate the 330 pupils currently attending the tent school.

There are currently 11 tents hosting Grade 8 pupils.

Once the new school is built, around 800 pupils can be accommodated in Grades 8 to 10.

Once the school is completed and registered, the parent community will decide on a permanent name for the school.

The tent school was put up at the beginning of the 2008 school year to accommodate the pupils who could not be placed in other schools.

A Grade 1 tent school, the Moses //Garoëb Project School, was also erected.

According to George Karumendu, Principal of the Hage Geingob Project School, it was a difficult start and many parents and children thought that the educational standard of the tent school was not up to scratch.

"The point is that education is taking place, the same education as anywhere else in the country," says Karumendu.

He says the children are now proud of their school and joke that at least they can collapse all four walls to create a draught when it is hot, something the children in brick schools cannot do.

The tent school has portable toilets and two taps for the children.