Parents in Keetmanshoop are worried that their children remain on school waiting lists on the first day of the academic year.
The NBC News team visited several schools and spoke to parents who shared concerns about registration fees and placement delays.
Parents in the Khomas Region flocked to the Teachers’ Resource Centre on the first day of school for 2026, seeking placement for their children.
The Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts, and Culture, Sanet Steenkamp, has urged school learners to show self-respect towards their teachers, embrace hard work, and avoid engaging in criminal activities.
Education serves as the strongest foundation towards the nation's dignity, identity and sustainable development.
It's against this background that the Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture has reaffirmed that every child has the right to quality education.
Veteran educationalist and trailblazer Maria Kusch, who broke racial barriers in the education sector, was buried in her hometown of Keetmanshoop.
She died at the age of 83.
The Director of Education in the Kavango West Region, Pontianus Musore, has said that the registration of learners for the 2026 academic year has been smooth.
Musore highlighted that the Ministry has also made provision to provide a conducive teaching environment.
The Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts, and Culture has completed the marking and processing of examination data for the Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary and Advanced Subsidiary.
The ||Kharas Education Director, Nicolaas Eiman, says it is all systems go when the new academic year starts on Monday.
Eiman told NBC News that both urban and rural schools are ready for the 2026 academic year despite some challenges.
The Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts, and Culture has warned schools not to force parents to buy items or pay unauthorised fees.
The Ministry clarified that public schools are not allowed to force parents to buy stationery or cleaning materials or pay registration fees.
Parents and learners are preparing for their return to class by shopping for school uniforms and stationery.
As our news team reports, shops were buzzing as families made their final purchases.
