MTC launches MTC Rural Schools Project.

Windhoek – July 23-Namibia’s leading digital enabler and most admired brand continues to raise the bar in ploughing back into the community when it launched the MTC Rural School Project this morning.
The project, which answers to the call to dilapidated schools that lack decent structures or have none at all will see MTC partner with the Ministry of Education, Arts & Culture and rural schools to either build new classrooms or renovate existing classrooms which are decrepit to ensure that the Namibian child learns in a conducive and safe environment.
Well aware for the status quo and the dire assistance the education fraternity needs, MTC Chief Executive Officer Dr. Licky Erastus said the telco stands united in the vision of ensuring that every Namibian child is taught under a decent classroom, and this project aims to support that vision. “This is a CSI initiative and not a sponsorship. We are therefore inviting like-minded organizations to partner with MTC so that we can help more schools and hand them over with desk and chairs,” he said.
The first two schools that will benefit from the project are Sizongoro Combined School; situated 30km west of Rundu in the Kavango East Region, and Okondaune Primary School situated 5km before Opuwo. Both schools have indicated the need for four classrooms each.
“It is our intention to finalize this project by end of September 2020, and help more schools that are in need in 2021,” said Erastus, adding that it is the giant telecommunication’s deliberate mission to focus on rural schools and thus the need for guidance from the line ministry on which schools to target next.
Education minister Hon. Anna Nghipondoka extoled MTC for being a friend of education and supporting the ministry, highlighting that it is a collective responsibility while at the same time calling out other stakeholders to play their role.
The Minister said that her ministry need Over N$5 billion to solve the school problems country wide that will see the government building over 5000 schools, 94 hostels and over 5 000 schools country wide. In the meantime government have allocated a budget of N$600 million to build 94 hotels and other school infrastructure in the country. The Minister called on public and private sector to be part of the school’s development. The Ministry has so far initiated the Friends in Education Special Initiative aim at bringing stakeholders to assist in education infrastructures.
“We would like to thank, recognize and appreciate the donation of classrooms from MTC to our ministry. This is not the first time that MTC is supporting so it is vividly clear that MTC realizes that educating the Namibian child is a collective responsibility and that it takes a village to raise a child,” said Nghipondoka.The minister indicated that Namibia is in need of over 5100 classrooms at a total cost of N$1.8 billion.
Compiled by Joseph NM Tobias
joseph@namibiadailynews.info