The Deputy Minister of Education, Arts and Culture, Faustina Caley and Director General of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Obeth Kandjoze on Monday conducted a field visit to selected schools in the Omaheke Region. The purpose of the visit was for the deputy minister and NPC director-general to get acquainted with the conditions of schools and hostels in the region in order to determine areas that need urgent renovations and replacements. The visit was also aimed at observing how the high schools which have resumed face-to-face teaching and learning are conducting classes and how the placement of learners in the hostels was done. The delegation further visited construction sites to assess the work done on selected capital projects in the region, including at Ernst Meyer Primary School where hostel infrastructure is being built and the eight-bed isolation facility put up at the old Gobabis State Hospital area. Providing the details of the purpose of their joint visit, Kandjoze said an emergency budget of N$600 million was given to the Education Ministry which will be spread between the regional offices of education through the regional councils and offices of the governors for the provision of potable water, befitting hostel accommodations and ablution facilities at beneficiary schools in all regions countrywide. “Regional directorates of education must as best as they can try to utilise the funds to footprint the economy of their respective regions; whichever contractor is appointed for the job, there must be accountability,” he emphasised. Kandjoze additionally called upon regional relevant officials to conduct regular monitoring of projects in their regions. Speaking to NAMPA, Caley said she applauds the schools for the efforts they have put in to ensure the safety of their learners in the wake of COVID-19, adding that as per her observation during the visits, the renovations which the ministry is embarking on will prepare schools more for the phasing in of other grades. Omaheke Governor, Pijoo Nganate; Gobabis Constituency Councillor, Augustinus Tebele; Omaheke Regional Council Acting Chief Regional Officer, Karukirue Tjijenda; Omaheke Director of Education, Pecka Semba and other government officials from the region accompanied the delegation during the visits. NAMPA