More than 1,400 learners in the Khomas Region still need to find a placement now that schools have reopened.

Regional Director of Education, Arts, and Culture Paulus Nghikembua is adamant all learners will find a space in schools.

At the Khomas Directorate of Education, Arts, and Culture, some parents waited in the corridors, anxious to find placement for their children.

"We still have about 150 for pre-primary, about 288 learners looking for grade 1, and then the big figure at grade 8, which is around 1000 children that we still need to figure out where to place them. But like I said, we'll eventually place them."

Apart from the growth in population, the influx of learners from other regions makes it all the more difficult with each passing year for Khomas to address the issue of school placement.

"If you look at enrolment every year, we are increasing in the region by 2.4% to 2.5%. This is in the range of 3000 to 2800 per year. If you convert that into classrooms, you're looking at more than 70 classrooms per year. So if you compare what you need on a yearly basis due to either natural growth or migration from other regions plus the backlog that you have, you are in a region of 200 and something classrooms that you need."

Amanda Muukua is a mother looking for a place for her daughter in grade one.

She questions why parents are required to visit the directorate year after year.

"The government is doing the census, right? Now, can't they see that the population is increasing? As the population is increasing, they were supposed to make plans in advance. It's not important for us to come every year to the same place. Government must make a plan, they should step up, they should start thinking outside the box."

The Directorate of Education remains adamant that every learner will be placed.

A number of alternatives are being considered.

These include the introduction of the platoon system at schools, where some learners would attend classes in the mornings versus others in the afternoon, as well as ways to accommodate learners in temporary structures.

For now, parents are advised to wait for 15 days while the directorate makes the necessary arrangements.