Kavango West’s Karanawa Primary School is facing a recruitment headache after receiving an overwhelming 581 applications for just one cleaner vacancy.
According to school principal Marcus Kasanga, 442 applicants passed the initial screening, while 139 were disqualified. Kasanga described the turnout as “unmanageable,” urging authorities to consider localising such positions to avoid future administrative challenges.
Some job seekers demanded that the school cancel the interviews due to the large number of candidates. However, Kasanga said the recruitment process would go ahead as planned to avoid wasting resources.
Kavango West education director Pontianus Musore admitted that while the situation was unfortunate, competition for jobs was inevitable. He also addressed language concerns raised by applicants from other regions, confirming that interviews would now be conducted in English to ensure fairness and because the job requires basic English literacy.
Meanwhile, several applicants are preparing to submit a petition asking the education directorate to prioritise current school volunteers for the job instead of continuing with interviews.
