THE minister of education, Abraham Iyambo, yesterday said his ministry is in the process of sending funds to schools. This forms part of the Universal Primary Education initiative through which Government wants to deliver free primary education to pupils in grades 0 to 7.

The ministry recently came under fire for delays in the delivery of money and books to schools.

"We will always be faced with hiccups. Yes there will be defects and we will make mistakes. However, these mistakes should be identified and rectified," said Iyambo.

He applauded the criticism his ministry has received from the media and general public. "A country that does not criticise itself is a country of zombies," he said.

"The N$50 million has been sent to the schools in all the regions. The funds are sent in line with the number of pupils at each school," said the minister.

He admitted that there are still schools who do not have bank accounts and this has been one of the reasons why there have been delays in distributing the funds.

"The funds should be used immediately. No Namibian child should sit in class without a pencil."