The Deputy Minister of Education, Dino Ballotti, has emphasised that no parent or guardian is required to sleep outside a school gate to secure admission for a child.
 
He made the remark in the National Assembly in response to incidents of parents and guardians queuing for extended periods at schools to obtain application forms for admissions for grades one and eight.
 
Applications for the admission process started on Monday and will run until 30 June.
 
Delivering a ministerial statement, Ballotti called on parents and guardians to obtain application forms within the prescribed period until the end of June.
 
“It is important to note that admissions are not conducted on a first-come, first-served basis. Collecting a form does not guarantee placement or an advantage over other applicants. Schools have been advised to make sufficient application forms available and to maintain comprehensive applicant registers with unique identification numbers to prevent duplication and ensure transparency.”
 
Parents will be informed of the outcome of their applications after the closing date of 01 July.
 
“Several guideline principles are applied through this process. Priority consideration is generally given to learners residing within a school's feeder zone, particularly those living closest to the school; learners whose parents or guardians work within the feeder zone; and siblings of learners already attending the school and expected to remain enrolled during the following academic year,” added Ballotti.
 
He also stated that the application fee is set at only N$10, adding that no child should be discriminated against based on their social, economic, or any other status.

However, some MPs raised concerns regarding the matter.
 
“What is happening with private school? What if they are using admission methods that are against the Constitution that are discriminatory? So what is the Ministry doing as far as admission tendencies within the private school space?” asked the leader of Affirmative Repositioning, Job Amupanda.
 
The leader of NUDO Vetaruhe Kandorozu also questioned the process.

“It has been like this for the past 36 years, and I anticipate that it will continue like this for the next 10 years to come until we change the whole government setup.”
 
Swapo Party MP Natangwe Ithete wanted to know about children roaming the streets.

“Children should be at school, or they must be at school until at least the age of 16. Are we currently not violating that provision of the Constitution by allowing children roaming around in many towns from other countries? The ones that sometimes we call the Mongolian kids – we have no proof whether they are Mongolian kids or not, but these children, laws are for everybody in this country.”

Ballotti, however, called on MPs to contribute to the discussion.
 
“It's something that none of us are proud of. And so I think the reality is that as a collective, we have to make a decision. Because we're not proud of it. No one can stand here and say it's not our problem. It's a collective problem.”