Cocoma Primary pupils sleeping on ‘hostel’ floors

Severe accommodation shortages at Cocoma Primary School in the Kavango East region have left pupils sleeping on mattresses on the floor, parents say.

Videos and pictures seen by The Namibian show pupils sleeping on mattresses in the sand.

The school, located at Kakekete village of the Ndiyona constituency, does not have proper flooring despite numerous donations made by the fishing company Beki-Kumata Fishing, which could not be reached for comment at the time of going to print.

The current structure serving as a hostel accommodates hundreds of pupils with only five mattresses.

Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture executive director Erastus Haitengela told The Namibian yesterday that construction for a proper hostel at the school is expected to commence soon.