117 293 pupils are being educated by 4 311 teachers from the Ohangwena Region. This makes it the most crowded region for pupil-to-teacher ratio.
This is according the UNICEF’s 15th School Day Report.
The report states that the region has an average pupil-to-teacher ratio 27/1.
This skewed pupil to teacher ratio occurs at a time when many schools across the country are in the process or enrolling students for 2023.
The //Kharas region stands at 24 686 pupils and 942 teachers, with a pupil-to-teacher ratio of 26/1.
Raimo Dengeinge, deputy director at Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture, attributes the high pupil-teacher ratio in most urban areas to continued rural-urban migration.
He claims that the ministry builds classrooms but that students move to cities years later, leading to a deficient pupil-to-teacher ratio.
“People are flocking to urban areas,” he says.
According to the 15th School Day Report, the current pupil-to teacher ratio is 26/1.
According to the report, there are 31 421 teachers in the country and 839 579 students.
Paulus Nghikembua, Khomas education director, says they cannot disclose the status of school placements within the region since students are still taking exams.
“We must wait for the results to actually know if we have a challenge or not,” he says.
Joseph Martin, Walvis Bay’s education circuit inspector, stated Wednesday that plans are still in place to accommodate all Grade 1 and 8 students for the 2023 academic school year.
Currently, 440 Grade I pupils are still waiting to be placed in schools in the coastal town.
Recently, the Walvis bay circuit office managed to reduce the number on waiting lists for Grade 8 students from 700 in July to just 444.
Martin encouraged parents to be patient while the directorate works on the future.
He said that this is the first time that so few Grade 8 students are waiting for placement.
Many Namibians travel to the coast in search of work, while others are transferred to the coast.
Schools are overcrowded.
Parents were also urged to understand why their children could not be accommodated at the school they choose.
Martin advised parents that they consider enrolling their children in schools located in other areas of the region. There is more space and accommodation for them.
Erongo education director Erenfriede Stephanus stated this week that the final placement figures would be determined at a regional meeting next Thursday.
The Zambezi regional education department has provisionally placed approximately 8 715 Grade 1 or Grade 8 students for the 2023 academic school year, despite overcrowding in schools in the region.
Jost Kawana the regional education director revealed this Wednesday.
He stated that enrolment continues its upward trend every academic year.
He estimated that 4 289 Grade 1 students and 4 217 Grade 8, respectively, were placed in rural and urban schools in the region.
“This has kept the available schools overcrowded, making the effectiveness of teaching and learning difficult. The region is using the platoon system for the junior primary phase to cater for a higher enrolment of pupils, given limited classroom space,” he says.
He claims that the region is experiencing a shortage of classrooms, which is a concern because some schools are using tents to teach in harsh weather conditions.
“The region is trying by all means to create learning space by providing tents and other makeshift mechanisms to assist overcrowding in classrooms.
“At the moment, the region’s pupil-to-teacher ratio at some schools stands at 60 pupils per teacher.
“In attempts to reduce the pupil-to-teacher ratio, we make arrangements to transfer teachers procedurally to schools where overcrowding is experienced from schools with more teachers than pupils,” he says.
Source: namibian
