Kavango West school pupils drop to 15

Parents have removed pupils from Kavango West’s Nyege Junior Primary School over dilapidated, unsafe tent classrooms, leaving the school with just 15 children.

The school in the Mpungu constituency was established in 1971 but has been operating without proper classrooms since it was moved closer to the road near Nkurenkuru in 2022 because of recurring elephant threats.

The school has allegedly had about 30 pupils over the years, but parents are now sending their children to other schools due to poor conditions.

The remaining pupils are in grades 1 and 2 – all taught together in one small tent.

The principal allegedly resigned in 2020 due to the school’s poor condition, a parent says.

Markus Vilho (52), whose five grandchildren are attending the school, says the tent is frequently damaged by strong winds. He says the pupils do not have enough chairs, with as many as three sharing one chair.