Staff Reporter
THE Minister of Education, Sanet Steenkamp, inaugurated three schools in the Kunene Region, as well as additional classrooms, ablution facilities and other infrastructure constructed at nine other schools.
Steenkamp revealed that the schools and facilities were constructed at a total cost of N$70,061,531.64.
The newly inaugurated schools are Outjo Project Primary School, Outjo Project Secondary School and Okapundja Primary School. The nine schools that received additional classrooms, ablution facilities and other infrastructure are Toto West Primary School, Musaso Combined School, Oukongo Combined School, Elias Amxab Combined School, KM Maundu Primary School, Katutura Project School, Kaoko-Otavi Combined School, Ombombo Combined School and Otjerunda Combined School.
Photos: Ministry of Education Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture
According to Steenkamp, Outjo Project Secondary School comprises 20 classrooms, an administration block, a computer laboratory, a science laboratory, a library and ablution facilities.
She further revealed that Outjo Project Primary School has new pre-primary classrooms with their own ablution facilities, opening the doors of formal schooling to some of Outjo’s youngest children for the very first time.
Furthermore, she added, Okapundja Primary School has a Module 4 classroom block, an ablution facility, a water tank and a school fence.
“In addition, new pre-primary classrooms with their own ablution facilities are being constructed at Etoto West PS, Elias Amxab CS, KM Maundu PS and Katutura Project School. Kaoko-Otavi CS, Otjerunda CS and Ombombo PS received a Module 2 classroom each, while Musaso CS and Oukongo CS received a package comprising Module 4 classrooms, an administration block, a computer laboratory, a science laboratory, a library and ablution blocks,” she continued.
Steenkamp commended the Kunene Regional Directorate, education officials, local authorities and contractors for their role in taking the projects from planning through to completion.
“I therefore want to place on record my appreciation to the Kunene Regional Directorate, our education officials, the local authority, the contractors and all those who worked behind the scenes to bring these projects from planning to completion. Public infrastructure does not build itself. It requires coordination, persistence, oversight and accountability. Where those things come together, communities see results,” the minister said.
She acknowledged the challenges associated with delivering services in Kunene, given the region’s vast geographical area and dispersed communities.
“I am conscious, too, that Kunene is not an easy region to serve. It is vast, its communities are dispersed, and distance here is measured differently than it is in Windhoek. That is why this Region carries one of the largest hostel networks in the country: 21 government hostels housing 6,807 learners, a further 33 subsidised hostels housing 7,204 more, and 32 community hostels besides. More than fourteen thousand of Kunene’s children sleep away from their own homes each week so that they can reach a classroom,” she added.
Steenkamp said Kunene was among seven regions where all planned pre-primary projects had been completed before June 2026, describing the achievement as a strong indication of progress in the region. She said the Ministry of Education was continuing its efforts to expand school infrastructure across the country.
“Our Ministry’s own Quarterly Capital Project Progress Report for the first quarter of this financial year, covering April to June 2026, records that MEIYSAC completed 92 new pre-primary classrooms across eleven regions during that quarter alone, ten of them right here in Kunene. Nationally, by the end of June, 46 of the 70 planned pre-primary construction sites had been completed, a programme completion rate of 66 per cent, and Kunene was one of only seven regions, out of fourteen, to reach full completion of every pre-primary site planned for it. That is a genuinely strong result, and it reflects a Regional Directorate that has kept its contractors moving and its projects on track,” the minister added.
