Overcrowded classrooms, a lack of proper furniture, inadequate financial resources, and insufficient infrastructure development remain a challenge to many schools in Erongo, contributing to high failure rates.
 
Principals from various schools said teaching and learning have become increasingly difficult, as teachers struggle to manage large class sizes while learners are forced to share desks and textbooks.
 
The situation is affecting learners' performance and morale, they highlighted, calling for urgent intervention to address infrastructure backlogs.

“I would also say that infrastructural constraints, like the buildings, are cracking, boundary walls collapsing, and finances obviously not being enough. We get the education grant on time from the Government. They commit to their promise. However, it is not enough to maintain a fully functional school to run effectively,” the Principal of West Side High School Veneza Rheeder noted.
 
The Principal of Coastal High School Calvin Martin echoed the same sentiments.
 
“If we can have all the resources that we can offer to our learners and teachers, then it will be a good thing that we can provide. The government can provide assistance. We are not the only technical score. There are other schools as well, and financially stripped. It is difficult to provide the necessary equipment and tools, as we have the soft skill subjects like homo, psychology and hospitality, home economics, fashion, and fabrics; the hard skills are in welding, motor mechanics, and soil. The tools and the resources that we need for that come with a price.”
Staff shortages are another concern for Kuisebmond Secondary School’s Principal Jonathan Mashawu.

 “The shortage of teachers, especially in critical subjects, is very difficult to address. The process of recruiting qualified teachers is lengthy and expensive. We are starting the year with seven fewer teachers. We still have to interview. We have already advertised four posts. There are three more posts we have already interviewed. We are only waiting for the recommendation and finalisation, which we hope to receive by next week, Monday or Tuesday, for positive results. Instead of starting with seven fewer teachers, we will start with four fewer teachers.”
 
The Regional Director for Education Erenfriede Stephanus acknowledged the challenges and said plans are underway to prioritise infrastructure development in affected schools.