The Shingunguma Combined School (SCS), situated in Eengava village in the Ohangwena Region, has been closed until further notice due to heavy rainfall, coupled with an influx of water from neighbouring Angola.

Classes have also been suspended until the situation stabilises.

The school, which is surrounded by oshanas, is no longer accessible, and both learners and teachers must cross cold water stretching over one kilometre.

The school accommodates learners from Grade 0 to Grade 7 and has 372 learners, 90% of whom are affected.

Speaking to nbc News yesterday, as the school moved some of its valuable items while officially shutting its doors until the water subsides, school principal Grace Musheko said it was about time the government found a lasting solution to this annual predicament.

"This situation is very hard for us. It has been like this all those years when there have been floods or heavy rains, and we have been crying to regional offices and the educational offices, receiving positive responses and promises, but we are still optimistic to receive the assistance promised to us. What we want is to have at least an exit point where we can move freely from the tarred road because sometimes we think of camping, but it's of no use to camp while you are in the middle of this much water."

Musheko added that it would be impossible to manage should a learner be sick or for material to be dropped at school since there is no point to exit the school, citing that the school needs an access road as a matter of urgency.

Some of the learners we spoke to say they are in a predicament because with the suspension of classes, they will only come and run through the scopes, making it hard for them to fully grasp the content.

The Education Inspector of Ohangwena Circuit, Thomas Kautwima, said there is a need for joining efforts to find a lasting solution and that teachers have submitted compensation plans to ensure the learners catch up.