Platoon system comes to an end at Groot Aub Primary with four new classrooms from Japan’s government
Groot Aub Primary School inaugurated four new classrooms last week, relieving the school’s learners of the intrusive platoon system. The classrooms, together with a new storeroom, were constructed with the support of the Japanese Government as part of its Grassroots Human Security Project.
Japanese Ambassador to Namibia, HE Hideaki Harada officially presented the facility to the Minister of Education, Arts and Culture, Hon Katrina Hanse-Himarwa on Thursday 07 February 2019. Currently Groot Aub Primary has 1050 learners ranging from pre-primary to Grade 7.
The school which was founded in 1952 saw a substantial increase in enrollment in 2013 following the introduction of free primary education. The facilities proved to be inadequate forcing the school to introduce the so-called platoon system where different grades had to share the same classroom. This translates to some children attending school in the morning and others only in the afternoon. Platooning, while forced by circumstances, has shown to be disruptive and detrimental to sound learning.
The classrooms are utilised by 128 Grade 3 and 45 Grade 1 learners. With this increased capacity, the platoon system is now something of the past at Groot Aub Primary.
Ambassador Harada said Groot Aub is the fourth school that he has presented to the Namibian Government since arriving in Namibia early in 2018. The contribution to Groot Aub slightly exceeded N$750,000.
Furthermore, it is the 35th school supported by the Japanese Government since 1997. Good news from the ambassador is that another three schools are currently under construction having been funded from the 2017 budget while four more schools are to be support from the 2018 budget.
Addressing the Groot Aub learners the ambassador said “This school block has been built with assistance from the people of Japan through the efforts of your teachers and members of the school and the community who think about you and always try their best for you to learn and grow in a better environment.”
“Please do not forget such kindness and thoughtfulness and take good care of your school facilities so that your younger sisters and brothers will also enjoy learning in this good educational environment. Please study hard, and maybe one day, you will get a chance to visit or study in Japan,” the ambassador concluded.
Japan’s total grassroots investment in Namibia now exceeds N$40 million.
Caption: On the left, the Minister of Education, Arts and Culture, Hon Katrina Hanse-Himarwa, unveiling the placque to mark the inauguration of four new classrooms at Groot Aub Primary School in the Khomas Region. On the right is the Japanese Ambassador, HE Hideaki Harada.
