OBSERVER DAILY | 552 learners, 12 trees, 0 Classrooms: Minister Steenkamp, where is the plan?
This past week, Namibians were once again confronted with an image that should never have existed 35 years after independence: children sitting under trees, trying to learn. The scene was Ndama East Primary School in Kavango East, where 552 learners, yes, five hundred and fifty-two children, are being taught under the shade of trees. Each tree is a “classroom”.
There are more than twelve such “classrooms”, manned by fourteen qualified teachers doing their utmost with nothing but chalk, voices, and hope.
The man who brought this story to the national consciousness was not a government minister, not an education inspector, and not an official on a well-funded “familiarisation” tour.
It was Job Amupanda, the opposition leader of Affirmative Repositioning, who took the time to visit rural communities.
The irony stings: it is left to the opposition to reveal the rot in our system, while those charged with fixing it remain curiously blind.
A national shame
The situation at Ndama East is not new. For decades, Namibians have whispered about or occasionally seen schools where learners sit on rocks or logs, exposed to wind, rain, and scorching sun. And yet, every year, our leaders stand before the nation and speak of “progress in education”. Every budget speech includes references to billions allocated to the education sector. Every glossy government brochure parades “achievements”. But what, exactly, has changed for the children of Ndama East?
The Windhoek Observer has covered these stories before. Schools under trees are not isolated incidents, they are symptoms of a deeper systemic failure. What does it say about our priorities as a nation when multimillion-dollar tarred roads cut across rural communities, yet the children who live along those roads still study in the dirt? What does it say about our leadership when stadiums and party headquarters take precedence over classrooms?
Anticipating the excuses
No doubt, critics of this editorial will be quick to respond. They will say we are “too negative”.
They will remind us that “government has many priorities to juggle.” They will point to the fact that “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” But such excuses collapse under their own weight when confronted with 552 children under trees.
Too negative? What could be more negative than a child sitting on the ground, unable to concentrate because dust blows into their eyes or the rain soaks their books? Too many priorities? What higher priority can a government have than the education of its children? Rome wasn’t built in a day? Well, Namibia has had 35 years. If not now, when?
The truth is that our children’s suffering is not the result of too many priorities. It is the result of misplaced priorities.
Where are the ministers?
Minister Sanet Steenkamp, this message is directed at you. Where are your “familiarisation tours”? When last did you sit under a tree in Kavango East, Ohangwena, or Kunene, with learners crammed on the ground, and felt their reality? Too often, ministers travel to schools that already have decent infrastructure, to cut ribbons, to make speeches, to celebrate the little progress that exists. But rarely do they go to “the heart of the beast,” to where the rot festers.
It should not take an opposition leader with a cellphone camera to show us the truth. It should be your ministry, your inspectors, your officials, ringing the alarm bells, mapping the crisis, and providing concrete timelines to fix it. Anything less is an abdication of duty.
A systematic approach is possible
We must move away from the ad hoc, photo-op approach to education infrastructure. If Namibia is serious about eliminating “schools under trees,” it requires a systematic, coordinated plan. Here is what such an approach should entail:
* National audit of infrastructure
Conduct an immediate, transparent audit of all schools in Namibia, identifying those still without classrooms, libraries, toilets, or water. Make the findings public. Without honest data, we cannot solve the problem.
* Prioritised infrastructure rollout
Allocate funds specifically for the elimination of “schools under trees,” with measurable targets. For example: within five years, no child should be taught without a roof. Prioritize rural areas where need is greatest.
* Modular and cost-effective building
Use modular classrooms and prefabricated structures that can be deployed quickly and cheaply. Other countries in Africa have used this approach with success, why not Namibia?
* Community partnership
Involve local communities in the construction and maintenance of schools, with government providing materials and technical expertise. Communities are already bearing the burden of teaching their children under trees; give them the means to build permanent solutions.
* Transparent reporting
Publish progress annually. Tell us how many schools under trees were replaced by classrooms. If the number goes down by ten each year, let us know. Accountability builds trust.
* Ring-fenced budgets
Protect education infrastructure budgets from being diverted to less urgent projects. A kilometer of tarred road cannot be more important than a classroom.
A call to conscience
Minister Steenkamp, the children of Ndama East are not statistics. They are living, breathing Namibians whose futures are already being compromised. Education is not a privilege, it is a constitutional right. Your ministry carries the heaviest responsibility in the country, because without educated children, there is no Namibia tomorrow.
We urge you to stand before the nation and acknowledge this shame, not with defensive rhetoric, but with a clear plan. Tell us when those 552 learners will sit in proper classrooms. Tell us when no child in Namibia will have to study under a tree again.
Until then, let us be clear: no excuse, no familiarization tour, no budgetary jargon can justify what we saw in Kavango East.
It is not “too negative” to demand that children be taught in classrooms. It is not unreasonable to insist that, after 35 years of independence, Namibia should not have schools under trees. What is negative, what is unreasonable, is allowing this to continue year after year while politicians argue, pose for cameras, and blame “too many priorities.”
Minister Steenkamp, the time for excuses has ended. The children of Ndama East, and of countless other rural communities, deserve dignity, not dust. They deserve classrooms, not trees. And they deserve a government that cares enough to act.
