A donation of six classrooms from the Japanese Embassy has helped Omaruru's Ubasen Primary School overcome overcrowding and phase out the platoon system.

Principal Sonja Uwu-Gaes highlighted the achievement during the school's 60th anniversary celebration. 

Ubasen Primary School was formerly known as the Indigenous Community School of Omaruru under the Bantu Education system.

Since 1965, the school has grown and produced notable figures in society, including entrepreneur Johnny Doeseb and academic and vice-chancellor of the Namibia University of Science and Technology, Professor Erold Naomab.

Currently, the school has over 1,000 learners, mostly from informal settlements, from grades 0 to 7. 

It offers both Khoekhoegowab and Oshindonga as language subjects.

To address overcrowding and a lack of infrastructure, the school implemented a platoon system, splitting learners into morning and afternoon groups.

The Japanese Embassy stepped in with a donation of six classrooms to ease the situation.

Sonja Uwu-Gaes, the school principal, described the platoon system as "not very effective, honestly, because it requires us to shorten some class periods. Most affected are those coming in the afternoons, as we cannot send the learners back late. So that is somehow a compromise. We have grown over the years, so we want to celebrate the achievements of where we came from."

The Erongo Governor, Natalia |Goagoses, joined the anniversary celebrations and paid tribute to both former and current teachers who have shaped the futures of many learners.

The school is also raising funds to improve the learning environment and build a multi-purpose hall for gatherings, sports, arts, and other activities.

"It is not a luxury anymore. Here we are, six decades and 30 years after independence, at a school ground hosting 1,030 learners and more than 20 teachers. The governor is coming, children are sitting in the sun, we must hasten this plan, and make a quoted plan so that the governor can assist the ministry for this envisaged assembly point or school hall to be constructed in the shortest possible time," said |Goagoses.

The governor and the school principal also noted that learners face social challenges, including drug trafficking and abuse, when they are back in their communities.

The governor called on parents to cooperate with the police to help remove drug dealers from the area.