Church sources in Namibia have revealed that South African troops have burnt down at least 13 schools in the north of the territory. The attacks were executed during a South African campaign against a sustained offensive by SWAPO guerillas, and took place against a backdrop of continuing resistance to the education system in Namibia.
Speaking at the IDAF Annual Conference in Oslo, Norway, in May, President Sam Nujoma of SWAPO disclosed that the schools which had been bombed or burnt down included those at Onheilwa, Okalongo, Okando, Omutundungu, Okambembe, Oheita, Iishanaputa, Onelao, Onambindi, Okatale, Oilyayahenge, Olyasiiti and Ohanti. Many of the schools were run by the Namibian churches, he said, in an area where official educational facilities were inadequate.
At Okambembe the attackers, who were not wearing military uniforms, were intercepted by local people who shot and wounded one of them. Troops who arrived on the scene identified the wounded man as a member of their unit and detained Tobias ELAGO, the civilian who had shot him.
Raids by troops and police on other schools in the war zone have led to a number of student protests. Pupils at Okahao Girls Secondary School boycotted classes after troops entered the school on the night of 18 March and threatened students and teachers. A student boycott took place at the Ponhofi Secondary School in Onhangwena, after South African troops had carried out a mortar attack on 13 March. A pupil, Nghikofa VICTORIA, was killed and eight other students were injured. On 23 February soldiers detained the principal of Oshigambo High School, Timoteus NDAKUNDA and his wife, alleging that they had encouraged students to protest at military interference in school affairs.
Protests have erupted in several Namibian schools and educational institutions this year, as students acted on a variety of grievances stemming from the inequality and segregation of Namibian education. Student militancy was also evident at the Academy for Tertiary Education in Windhoek, where there has been conflict between the administration and students over the powers of the Students' Representative Council (SRC). The participation of two Academy lecturers in a meeting in Lusaka between prominent white Namibians and President Nujoma of SWAPO, was strongly criticised by officials of the South African-installed Multi-Party Conference (MPC) administration.
The MPC administration has been making efforts to end formal segregation in schools. These efforts have been blocked by the body in control of white schools, the Administration for Whites. The official desegregation of Namibian schools will do little to redress the massive inequalities in education, or end the shortages of teachers, classrooms and equipment in black schools. Statistics recently released by the Department of National Education show that R500,000 would be needed to eliminate the shortage of classrooms in black schools. In the Ovamboland bantustan, where half the population of Namibia lives, no new classrooms have been erected for the past five years.
Education in the war zones of Namibia is seriously disrupted by military activity, and students have -deserted official schools in protest at racist and inferior education. Many young males leave official schools in order to avoid registration for military conscription, which is conducted through the schools. To cater for their needs, the Namibian churches have established independent schools. Lack of funds has also hindered the expansion of the Non-Formal Education Unit of the Council of Churches in Windhoek, which caters for 850 students.
