The gap in the shortage of classrooms is slowly narrowing in the ||Kharas Region, with more classrooms constructed and completed at Keetmanshoop under the government's Emergency Construction of Classrooms Nationwide Programme.

Keetmanshoop Primary School received one block of three classrooms and a storage room, while one new block of two classrooms and a storage room was added to Keetmanshoop Secondary School. ||Kharas Governor Aletha Frederick says the inauguration of newly constructed classrooms at Keetmanshoop schools reaffirms the government's commitment to provide quality education.

"This is a historic occasion that marks a key milestone in the development of our educational infrastructure and reaffirms our government's commitment to providing quality education for our children, and I think in the south we are more fortunate; we don't really find learners that are taught under trees as far as I know. We are in a more fortunate position, so we have to make use of what we have because the government is trying by all means to create a conducive environment where teaching and learning should take place."

Frederick urges all stakeholders to take ownership of school infrastructure.

"It is now up to all of us—the government, school management, teachers and parents, and the community at large—to ensure that these classrooms are taken care of and utilised to their fullest potential, she said.

Also speaking at the occasion were the acting director of ||Kharas Education Directorate and the acting Chief Regional Officer. 

"With all the social and economic developments in place or planned in the near future in ||Kharas Region, the Directorate of Education, Arts, and Culture will need enough infrastructure and other resources to accommodate the anticipated higher number of enrollments of learners in schools and in the region; in particular, we have identified Keetmanshoop, Oranjemund, and Lüderitz for schools to be built because I think the number of learners is growing every day and the need for new schools is there, and we need to mitigate this challenge," said Bennie Diergaardt, the acting CRO.

Jasmine Margermann, the acting Education Director added that "Now, during the identification of the root causes of the unsatisfactory academic results, one specific issue identified was the inadequate educational facilities at some schools in our region. The inadequate classrooms led to overcrowded classrooms in these schools, especially in our urban areas."