The Ministry of Education, Arts, and Culture has purchased 83 mattresses and 22 double dunker beds for the community hostel at the Otjerunda Combined School in the Kunene Region.

This was announced in a media statement on Monday by the Ministry’s Executive Director, Sanet Steenkamp, following reports on social media last week of mattresses and beds being in disrepair at the said hostel.

“We would like to clarify that the ministry built two hostel blocks at the aforementioned school in 2020. The hostel in question is a community-run establishment, and the photos that have been circulated on social media were taken from old self-built informal hostel blocks,” she stated.

Steenkamp said the region’s Directorate of Education, Arts, and Culture assessed the situation, identified a need for hostel furniture, purchased the mattresses, and delivered them to the hostel on Thursday, 17 February 2022, with the beds following in due course.

“We would like to emphasise that the hostel in question is a community hostel, and the government subsidy that allows the school to meet all basic hostel needs was only recently approved,” the statement added.

Steenkamp also stated that the ministry will continue to provide a conducive environment for quality and inclusive education.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency