The Acting Education Director for Kavango East says the region is fully prepared for the opening of schools next week.

Lukas Makayi said the region has procured stationery and furniture worth about N$4,5 million  for the 2026 academic year.

When the NBC News team visited the transit storeroom, workers were busy preparing various materials for delivery to schools across the region.

“In most cases, parents complain that schools ask them to pay for stationery. However, this time around, we managed to procure stationery worth N$4 million from the Government Store and an additional N$480,667 thousand worth of stationery from a private supplier. As we speak, officials at the regional office are busy distributing these items to schools. There is therefore no reason to say that schools do not have stationery,” Makayi said.

The distribution of 6,900 furniture items, including desks and chairs, will begin when schools open on Monday.

“We managed to procure the furniture, and it is currently in the warehouse. We could not distribute it earlier because schools were closed when we received it. Once schools reopen, we will begin distributing it to various schools, with the support of inspectors, who serve as heads of the regional offices at the second level,” he explained.

Regarding overcrowding, Makayi noted that about 1,300 learners could not be placed last year due to limited space.

As a solution, the Education Ministry is constructing two primary schools and two secondary schools in the Rundu circuit.

He expressed satisfaction with the site handover of some of these schools, particularly at Ndama East, which was completed in December.

“The site at Satotwa is scheduled for this week. I spoke to the contractor yesterday, and they are arriving today. Tomorrow, we will show them the exact location where the school will be constructed. In the meantime, learners can attend classes in tents while construction is ongoing. Hopefully, by May or June, the classrooms will be completed, and learners can move in,” Makayi said.

Makayi also revealed that new teaching posts will accompany this academic year.

“We received 134 teaching posts, and these vacancies are currently being advertised. Very soon, we will finalize the recruitment process, and once appointed, the teachers will be deployed to schools across the region.”

He further noted that the ministry aims to reduce class sizes and move away from situations where a single teacher has more than 40 learners in a classroom.

Currently, Kavango East has more than 81,000 learners.