Parents who have their children enrolled at the Ndama East School, which is regarded as an illegal school in the Kavango East Region, refused to move their children to the newly constructed Ndama South Primary School.
Concerned parents and community advocates rejected the directive from the Kavango Education Directorate to enrol their children at the new school.
The long-running Ndama education dispute refuses to settle.
The construction of the Ndama South Primary School started last year following the identified need for more schools in the region.
A dispute erupted when the Ministry directed the construction of the school at Ndama South instead of Ndama East as per the initial plan.
The spokesperson of the Ndama Concerned Group, Paulus Nduma, says parents feel betrayed.
“The situation escalated further when the school management at Ndama East Primary School received an urgent visit from the regional education office. Miss Shikima Christine, the acting Director of Education, and Mrs. Kangungu Nulia Rundu, the Circuit Inspector, delivered a shocking directive: Ndama East Primary School must close immediately and learners must be transferred to a newly built school in Sun City, named Ndama South Primary School. The gravity of this decision cannot be overstated. In response, parents have courageously stood their ground. They refuse to bow to threats and are committed to the well-being and education of their children. We commend their resilience and unwavering dedication to justice.”
Ndumba says parents also fear for their children’s safety as they are still too young to walk long distances.
“The school where the learners are is also a registered school and is a recognised school despite the fact that they were robbed after collecting everything after the school was given a budget and the budget was diverted there, and then the parents decided to support that initiative.”
The acting Director of Education, Christine Shilima, says the directive to close illegal schools was an instruction from the office of the Executive Director of Education, Sanet Steenkamp.
Shilima says denying the learners the right to move to government schools is denying them their right to quality education, adding that the Ministry only supports recognised state schools.
In a letter dated September 25, 2023, to the Ndama East Primary, it was stated that: Failure to adhere to the directives from the Ministry will result in the Ministry seeking an urgent court injunction from the High Court to enforce the decision.
There are about five unregistered schools in the region, namely, Ndama East, Ndama South, Ukumwe, Tuhingireni, and Mangomba schools.
So far, only Tuhingireni has responded positively to the Ministry’s directive.
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