By Hileni Nembwaya
Copyright namibian
The Oshikoto education directorate has allocated N$8.8 million to procure stationery for pupils in the region.
Oshikoto education director Hilma Nuunyango-George says N$8.8 million was allocated during the current financial year based on the15th school day statistics of the 2025 academic year.
The region received N$16.1 million last year.
“This communique serves to inform you that the regional directorate will commence the transfer of funds to schools for the procurement of stationery at the school level,” she says.
Nuunyango-George says the funds will be allocated as N$100 per pupil for the pre-primary and primary education phase and N$150 per pupil for the secondary education phase.
She says the procured stationery should be reserved for use only at the beginning of the 2026 academic year.
“All stationery must be sourced from local suppliers and delivered to schools in time to be available on the first day of the academic year,” says Nuunyango-George.
She further urges schools to strictly adhere to the stationery guideline outlined in circular Form.ed 5/2023, adding that these guidelines cover stationery requirements from pre-primary to Grade 3, senior primary and up to the Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate and Advanced Subsidiary levels.
“Schools must note that this allocation is exclusively for the procurement of stationery as per the approved guideline.
Given budgetary constraints, schools are advised to review and priorotise items on the list accordingly,” she says.
Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture spokesperson Sem Shino told The Namibian that every region has a budget for pupils, meant to procure stationery.
“Every year, the regions are allocated funds for pupil stationery.
The total budget per region is determined by the total number of pupils enrolled.
If the region is big with a higher pupil enrollment, so is their budget allocation,” he says.
When asked whether the amount allocated per pupil is enough to procure stationery, Shino admitted that the amount is not enough, however, due to budgetary constraints, the amount allocated per pupil is quite fair.
“The amount allocated per pupil is determined by the finance department.
The amount might not be enough but it’s fair and we urge parents to meet the government halfway in order to meet our children’s school demands. It’s better than nothing at all,” he says.
