New Nyae Nyae school opens

TSUMKWE – The newly-built Nyae Nyae village school in the Tsumkwe east area was officially inaugurated on Tuesday by education deputy minister Faustina Caley.

The school is situated at the Den|ui village, about 30 kilometres west of Tsumkwe settlement in the Otjozondjupa region.

Caley in her remarks said the construction of the school started in 2019, and was funded by Otjikoto B2Gold Mine and Daikin LTD PTY, through the Ju|’hoansi traditional authority Development Foundation at the cost of nearly N$6 million.

The school has two classrooms for grade 1 to grade 3, hostels for boys and girls, teachers’ quarters, ablution facilities, a kitchen, vegetable garden, borehole and is powered by solar panels for electricity supply.

“Now, we will see to it that the learning and teaching here also become of quality nature,” Caley added.

The school has 75 learners and three teachers, including the school principal, Cwisa Cwi.

The school is one of six village schools situated in the conservancy, about 25 to 90 kilometres apart from each other, said Caley.

Several speakers, including the education regional director Josephine Mutenda and executive director in the ministry Sanet Steenkamp expressed excitement to see a brick school structure in the area where only some semi-structures were used for learning over so many years.

Other village schools in the Nyae Nyae Conservancy are at Ben’s Camp with 39 learners, Nhoma with 45 learners, ||Xaloba with 29 learners, ||Awu village school with 44 learners and Duinpos with 43 learners, all from grades 1 to 3.

Speaking on behalf of the community, their traditional leader Chief Bobo Tsamkxao praised government and its development partners for investing millions and building materials into the education of the San learners who are the future leaders of his community.

He also encouraged parents of all six village schools to see to it that their children fully attend school before anything else.