The Chairperson of the Kavango East Regional Youth Forum, Moses Sikerete, has called on the Ministry of Education, Arts, and Culture to give the leadership enough time to come up with a solution to the dispute around the construction of a new school in Rundu's Ndama Informal Settlement.

This comes after the ministry requested that the leadership find a solution to the matter before July 23.

The Education Ministry agreed to fund the construction of the school, as a means to decongest the old Ndama School, where the junior and combined schools are presently accommodated.

The two schools have a combined population of more than 4,000 learners, making them one of the most populated schools in the town.

Sikerete's letter to the line ministry, sent a week ago, was directed to the Office of the Acting Director of Education, Arts, and Culture, Christine Shilima.

He states that the timeframe given by the ministry for the issue to be resolved was too short.

The implications of the matter not being resolved in time are that the money may end up being diverted.

"What we are actually saying to the Ministry of Education is that this is a very complex issue; it involves politics and administration, so the time that was given to the Regional Leadership to resolve this matter, we believe, is not enough for this matter to be resolved, so we are calling out to the Ministry of Education that with the good intentions to allocate funds in order to address the needs of a Namibian child, let that intention stand so that sufficient time be given to the leadership so that serious engagement is now busy taking place so that this matter can find rest in bed."

He also calls on the regional leadership to put the Namibian child first when making decisions.

The 75,000 square metres of land were donated by the Rundu Town Council following a request by the Directorate of Education, Arts, and Culture.

At the moment, the school's construction is on hold as the matter is still being resolved.