900 Kunene pupils drop out this year

About 900 pupils dropped out of school in the Kunene region so far this year. This is partly attributed to family relocations and a lack of accommodation at schools. Kunene education director Sophia Frederick says the region is struggling to keep pupils in school despite progress in getting more children enrolled. “It is a hurtful truth that the dropout rate in our region is very high,” she says. She says some schools do not have hostels, forcing children to leave school when their parents move to other areas in search of grazing for livestock. “In terms of grazing, if parents are leaving, they will still be forced to go with their children that far because they do not have anyone to live with,” she says. Frederick also cites the instability experienced by farmworkers, who may be recruited and dismissed within short periods, forcing them to relocate with their children.

“A person is recruited today and fired tomorrow, for example. So it’s obvious this person has to go with his or her child,” Frederick says. She says the region’s proximity to Angola also presents challenges, as some children enrolled in Namibian schools later return to their country of origin. “They might be enrolled thinking they are Namibian, but in the meantime they go back,” she says. The Kunene region has, however, made progress in expanding access to education, with the number of schools increasing from 75 in 2024, including five private schools, to 88 currently. Frederick says the expansion reflects growing community demand for education, particularly in the Ovahimba areas, where most of the additional schools have been established. She says regional constituencies are helping to explain the importance of education to communities, with residents submitting applications for schools in their areas.…