Namibia leader chides teachers for under-tree classes

Namibian President Hage Geingob has expressed his dismay that children around the country are learning under trees.

In the first cabinet session of the year on Tuesday, he was speaking about education and told his ministers that he had witnessed the phenomenon himself: “The other thing I saw which is now prominent is children being taught under the trees. As I said, I was travelling this country and I had never seen this before. Under the trees.”

The president questioned why teachers could not construct makeshift structures to shield the children from the rain and other weather elements instead of helplessly waiting on the government to construct classrooms, BBc reports.

“Teachers are not doing their best with their hands,” he said.

He cited an example in the past of when he had given advice to a staff member at a school that did not have a kitchen: “Yes, while you are waiting for the government, why don’t you put one pole here, one pole there, one pole here and one there, and put blikkies [tins] on top?

“At the very least, you’ll be cooking, and it won’t be wet while you wait for the government.”