Windhoek: The new school year commences this week with an anticipated 896,311 learners from pre-school to Grade 12 filling up classrooms.According to Namibia Press Agency, the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture's Executive Director, Sanet Steenkamp, stated in an interview that 450,691 girls and 445,620 boys will be attending 2,036 schools across the country. "The ratio is 50.3 percent to 49.7 percent, meaning girls and boys have similar access to education," Steenkamp explained.The Ohangwena Region leads with the highest learner population, hosting 125,685 students, followed by Omusati with 112,943, and Khomas with 106,442 learners. Steenkamp highlighted that Namibia currently has 1,740 government schools and 296 private schools."At least 33,332 teachers are ready to welcome their learners to school on Monday," Steenkamp added. Among the total number of learners, approximately 55,000 are in pre-primary, while over 105,000 are Grade 1 learners. The first semester for government schools began on Mon day.