Category: Information

ONAUSHE: The Head of the Namibian Police Force’s Oshana Community Policing Sub-division, Inspector Thomas Aiyambo, has advised parents to ensure that their children sleep in separate rooms to avoid possible rape incidents from occurring.

Aiyambo was speaking during a ‘Be Safe’ campaign held at the Onaushe Combined School on Tuesday, where he addressed learners on how to stay safe.

He said there have been allegations of children being raped by their siblings and in some of these cases, girls have been impregnated, hence the advice for them not to share bedrooms once they reach a certain age.

‘These situations remain unreported, which is incorrect. Such reports ought to be reported to the headmen and/or teachers, as well as the police, who will conduct an inquiry,’ he said.

Aiyambo also urged learners to walk to and from school in groups to avoid sexual assault and said if they are attacked, they should seek help.

This comes after two recent incidents of rape were reported in the region involving learners.
The first incident was reported at the Etambo dumping site on 16 January 2024, where an 11-year-old girl headed to school was raped by an unknown suspect.

In the second incident, Aiyambo indicated that a 10-year-old girl was allegedly raped behind Oshana Mall by an unknown suspect on 18 January 2024, while coming from school.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

ONIIPA: The Oniipa Constituency Councillor in the Oshikoto Region, Vilho Nuunyango is urging businessmen and women to support learners and students.

Nuunyango said this in an interview with Nampa after he donated 6 000 sanitary pads to eight schools at Oneputa Combined School in the Oniipa circuit of the Oshikoto Region on Monday.

He said the business community should assist the learners with stationery and other basic needs, especially during the beginning of the year.

Nuunyango said that giving back to the learners and students will be a good opportunity to motivate learners to perform well.

‘Our learners are not inspired enough because there are no people who motivate them with gifts so they can feel motivated to perform better in their academics,’ said Nuunyango.

He said that elders hold a high responsibility to invest in the learners’ school performances and maintain their behaviour.

‘As elders of our society, we strongly need to encourage our learners to behave well because they are the leaders of
tomorrow,’ Nuunyango said.

He also encouraged parents and guardians to advise their children on the danger of drugs and alcohol abuse.

‘I encourage all the parents to advise their children not to do drugs or consume alcohol as this harms them,’ he said.

Nuunyango donated the sanitary pads to Oniipa Primary School, Omwandi Gwelago Primary School, Omukwiyu Gwemanya Combined School, Oshilulu Combined School, and the Onampadhi, Oneputa, Onalulago and Onzinzi combined schools.

He said there are five more schools that he will assist before the end of this year and plans to assist more schools next year.

Nuunyango said he is committed to supporting girls for now as they are mostly faced with challenges during lessons.

‘We want to make sure that the adolescent girls are safe in schools compared to the past when they were never taken care of, which also demoralised them.’

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

KATIMA MULILO: The MTC-Kilimanjaro Boxing Club launched a school boxing development programme in Katima Mulilo on Monday, which will be active in seven regions across the country.

Learners at Namalubi Combined School and Bukalo Primary School were introduced to the fundamentals of boxing on the first day of the programme, which is expected to visit more schools before progressing to Kavango West, Kavango East, and the remaining regions.

Club founder Joseph Benhard explained that the programme’s objective is to bring boxing to remote parts of the country while scouting for new talent.

‘Our ultimate goal is to scout raw talent with the introduction of the sport in these remote areas,’ he said.

Benhard said the programme will conclude in August, culminating in a special event hosted in the Oshana Region with selected learners from all seven regions participating.

Mutimani Albius Alfes, the principal of Namalubi school, expressed gratitude and highlighted the significance of sport. He said boxing can create
opportunities for learners.

‘Boxing is one of the sports that can create opportunities for the learners as not all of them will make it in their education, and when the opportunity comes, they can make a living through boxing,’ he remarked.

Alfes urged the club to not just showcase their offerings but to actively engage in training learners from a young age, fostering talent development.

Moowa Richard, a teacher at Bukalo Primary School, shared the sentiment that boxing is a valuable sport, not only locally, but also internationally. He however said it is neglected in rural areas and emphasised the need for a diverse range of sports selections in these areas.

Richard said learners in rural areas often only have access to football and netball, making the boxing programme a significant opportunity for them.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

A secondary school student of the College of Hopes, Arts and Science (COHAS), found in Bepanda – Douala was flogged to death by her teacher early Wednesday, January 17, 2024.

Unable to withstand the beatings, Vera Mbong collapsed. She was only rushed to the hospital when her classmates rioted.

While at the Deido District hospital, doctors declared Vera was dead.

No clear explanation was given on what must have transpired, pushing the teacher who is allegedly in custody to beat the student to death.

A student who gave the name of the teacher as Mr. Francis disclosed that ‘He is fond of beating students as if they were not humans’.

The school has not made any declarations.

This incident happened exactly one year after the Minister of Secondary Education, Professor Nalova Lyonga banned corporal punishment in schools across the country- Secondary Education Minister prohibits corporal punishment in schools – Cameroon News Agency

Source: Cameroon News Agency

The Senior Divisional Officer for Djerem division in the Adamawa region, Saffo Roger, has prohibited the loitering of students around school premises during study hours.

The administrative authority penned down the threat in an order issued recently warning that his office would arrest students in his administrative division who attempted to go against this restriction.

‘Any student who is found on the streets and other leisure places during the regular course hours will be arrested by the law enforcement forces and taken to the local police or gendarmerie station to be kept in custody until the intervention of a parent or a school administrator,’ part of the order read.

This is not the first time that such a measure has been taken by local authorities. In February 2023, the DO Penka Michel in the West region, mobilized the police to pursue and arrest students loitering around the town during school hours.

In October 2022, the main police commissioner Germain Djakedi of Yagoua in the Far North, decided t
o reactivate the fight against truancy to limit massive failures in end-of-year exams.

These measures contribute to the fight against school absenteeism, often linked to academic failure and school dropout.

Source: Cameroon News Agency

WINDHOEK: Rössing Uranium on Monday handed over a donation of 400 school bags filled with stationery to Tsumkwe Senior Secondary School as part of the Women in Media (WiM) Tsumkwe outreach initiative.

During the handover ceremony, Rössing Uranium Corporate Communication Manager Daylight Ekandjo said preparations for the donation had been underway since last year. Rössing Uranium pledged N.dollars 250 000 towards the initiative in response to a request from Women in Media.

‘We acknowledge the challenges faced by learners, teachers, and the community of Tsumkwe. It is in the face of challenges that resilience is forged, and it is our hope that these school bags and stationery will alleviate some of the burdens, enabling our future employees to focus on their studies and aspire to greater heights. This donation today is a small contribution towards a collective goal. It reflects our belief in the potential of the young minds of Tsumkwe and our commitment to fostering educational opportunities in the communitie
s where we live, work and beyond,’ she said.

Ekandjo also extended gratitude to Women in Media for the partnership.

‘It is through such partnerships that we can create a lasting impact, ensuring that every child receives the education they deserve,’ Ekandjo said.

Women in Media founder Limba Mupetami thanked Rössing Uranium for joining forces with WiM and for their contribution. School principal Christof Ngavetene also extended his gratitude to Rössing Uranium for the donation.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

WINDHOEK: Parents and guardians in Windhoek’s Moses ||Garoeb Constituency have been left frustrated by limited spaces in school, especially for Grade 1 learners.

Speaking to Nampa here on Monday, constituency councillor Stefanus Ndengu said limited space is a challenge every year, as the constituency has only four primary schools and two secondary schools catering for its estimated population of 90 000 to 100 000 inhabitants.

‘The population is growing and we cannot stop that… What we need is more schools to be built. We need to the Khomas Regional Council and Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture to add more schools,’ he said.

The principal of Moses ||Garoeb Primary School, Judith Sepiso, said parents have been flocking to the school looking for space, however due to limited space many children were turned away.

She said the school can only accommodate 1 400 learners, which already means each teacher has about 40 learners in their class, while the ministry’s teacher-learner ratio for grades 1 to 4 is 3
5 learners.

‘I am so scared for our country that we have children who are not going to school at all because they did not get space due to the limited number of schools. We might have some parents who might just go back and sit with their child, which is really a sad situation,’ she said.

Sepiso echoed the call for more schools, especially in the informal settlements where population growth is rapid due to rural-urban migration.

Meanwhile, acting principal of the newly established Cuba Primary Project School, Immanuel Nangolo, similarly called for more schools to be constructed. He said another option is to employ more teachers and to allow schools in informal settlements to operate on the plateau system, where some learners attend school in the morning and some in the afternoon.

‘Most intakes here are people from the rural areas and some of them are vulnerable children… The capacity of the Cuba project school is 1 260 learners in grades 1 to 7 and the teacher-learner teacher ratio is 38, however some cla
sses have 45 or more learners,’ he noted.

A frustrated parent, Annacky Inane, said she has been to all four primary schools in the constituency and other surrounding constituencies, but has not managed to secure a place in Grade 1 for her child.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency