Pre-primary pupils outnumber available places
Overcrowded classrooms and rising demand for pre-primary placements are straining public schools, prompting concerns over capacity, admissions and potential corruption. The situation has also led to the education directorate in the Erongo region temporarily suspending all new pupils enrolments at public primary schools at Swakopmund and Walvis Bay with immediate effect. Elim Primary School principal […] The post Pre-primary pupils outnumber available places appeared first on The Namibian .
Overcrowded classrooms and rising demand for pre-primary placements are straining public schools, prompting concerns over capacity, admissions and potential corruption.
The situation has also led to the education directorate in the Erongo region temporarily suspending all new pupils enrolments at public primary schools at Swakopmund and Walvis Bay with immediate effect.
Elim Primary School principal Katrina Simeon yesterday said the classes now accommodate around 45 pupils, exceeding the 35 pupils-per-teacher ratio for primary schools.
She said this happens because many Afrikaans-speaking parents opt to enrol their children in the English stream.
“We look at whether you live close to the school and whether you already have children enrolled here. Coming on the first day or the last day does not determine whether your child will be placed,” she said.
Another school principal, Valerie Gertze of Hermann Gmeiner Primary School in Windhoek, says demand for pre-primary places has continued to outstrip available space, with parents queuing on the first day when applications open.
