The Otjozondjupa Region is in dire need of school furniture, additional textbooks, and stationery for a smooth transition to the platoon system and for quality education.

The budget indicates that the education directorate requires more than three million dollars to service the region's circuits.

Otjozondjupa Education Director Gerhard Ndafenongo says the directorate is currently repairing broken furniture across the region.

A budget of over 1.4 million dollars is needed for chairs and desks, while an additional 1.8 million dollars is required for stationery and textbooks.

"Our region has been experiencing shortages of furniture, and we have initiated a project to repair all the broken frames in the schools. We have collected them and have several centers. Otjozondjupa is fortunate to have many centers offering TVET training, which allows them to assist us at a very low cost. There will be an additional allocation of funds to cater for textbooks and stationery."

The directorate is collaborating with government schools and institutions that offer technical and vocational lessons for this project.

"We have collected all the broken frames for school furniture for teachers' hostels, and we have distributed them evenly to the restoration centers I mentioned. In the next two weeks, these people are busy. You can visit COSDEC Otjiwarongo or Pariesis to see how individuals are working on repairing the furniture. Once completed, we will redistribute the furniture to the schools, especially those that provided the frames. Any other school in need of furniture can now approach our general services subdivision to indicate their requirements, and we will provide assistance. Additionally, we have received extra funding from our head office to complete this project."

To alleviate space constraints, the directorate will utilize space offered by local churches to store both broken and repaired furniture, awaiting distribution.