The newly constructed Matutura Primary School in Swakopmund faces infrastructure issues, as the project was handed over before it was completed.

This was announced by Paskalia Kashindi, the principal of Matutura Primary School, during an oversight visit to the school by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Youth, Civic Affairs, and Community Development.

According to Kashindi, the school functions without a school bell, lacks an intercom and clocking system, and staff are untrained in its proper use. 

"The school has a clocking system, but despite promises to train us on how to use it, that training never occurred. The school has an intercom; they promised they would train us how to use an intercom, but it did not happen. The school was built with an electrical bell; they said we would be trained on how to use it, but it did not happen."

She added that they cannot make or receive phone calls because the phone lines are disconnected. 

Kashindi further added that because the school does not have a hall, they are struggling with space to accommodate parents and learners.

"We struggle to have a parents' meeting; we struggle when we have functions with the learners. The school has no hall, and when we have a parents' meeting, we now decide to move the shelves of the library so that we can fit 150 parents at a time, and then we divide the meetings per grade."

Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee Willem Amutenya stressed that there are people mandated with the responsibility to check on the progress of the construction projects, and it poses a problem if those commitments are not met.

"There is negligence among those responsible for ensuring that construction projects are monitored and finalised properly. It's purely negligence, which should be rectified."

Amutenya also commented on some of the issues they picked up at the school during their visit.

"There is an issue with the land that is not well levelled, which poses a danger to the security and safety of our children, considering that this school takes in pre-grade 1 up to grade 7. Additionally, there are other technical difficulties, such as water leakage and poorly maintained taps, which seriously affect the school's infrastructure and compromise the delivery of quality education."

The visits form part of Parliament's efforts to strengthen education delivery and youth development across all regions.