Various stakeholders were summoned to appear for a meeting at the Kavango East Regional Council, following the water crisis at Ndama Junior Primary School in Rundu. 

Earlier this week, nbc News reported on the fact that learners relieved themselves in the open, in the schoolyard, for the past three weeks. 

The meeting, which took place on Thursday, was held to consider solutions following the suspension of classes earlier this week. 

"This is an emergency situation that needs urgent attention. We are hoping by next week this problem will be addressed. The due date for them to compile all the nitty-gritty that needs to be installed at the school is today. Immediately, we need to work on it, be it over the weekend or whatsoever; it must be done so that teaching and learning must continue," said Damian Maghambayi, the Chairperson of the Kavango East Regional Council.

When the news team visited the school on Friday, the Ministry of Works and Transport officials were busy installing a booster pump to increase water pressure. Some cleaners were also occupied with cleaning up the waste in the schoolyard. 

The team was still waiting for the septic tank crew, responsible for emptying the tank, to arrive. 

The long-term solution is considered a pump station to be installed at the school.

"This is a collective effort through the Directorate of Education and Rundu Town Council, but as regional government, we are also going to see how we will solicit funds so that whenever we want to address this problem, we need to address it. Service delivery is all about addressing pertinent issues, so in terms of where the budget will come from, we are going to see to it that the budget is available and the situation is resolved." 

The chairperson described the situation at Ndama Junior Primary as unfortunate and a huge embarrassment to the Kavango East Region. 

"Let me use this opportunity to really apologise to the nation for that very unfortunate situation that happened at Ndama JPS. Some of us were not informed and never even learnt what was happening at the school. Only until our national broadcaster went there and assessed the situation and everybody was informed, which is also unfortunate for the regional leadership to learn things through that platform." 

On Thursday, the Popular Democratic Movement released a statement after classes were suspended. 

The statement says the inability to provide basic water services is a severe violation of learners' rights and an impediment to their education. 

It also reads that the suspension of classes is not just a temporary setback but has long-term implications for the academic progress and social development of children. 

The Students' Union of Namibia also set a deadline for the education ministry to address the situation by next week Wednesday, warning of "radical action to protect the learners' right to education" if the issue is not resolved.

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Photo Credits
New Era Newspaper

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Author
Frances Shaahama