Covid, lack of resources no excuse for poor results

Only 5,812 out of the 38,019 full-time candidates who took the examination for the National Senior Certificate Ordinary Level (NSSCO) this year may qualify for further studies at a tertiary institution. Out of the more than 38,000 full-time candidates, 21.4% and 8,133 pupils (an increase of 2.6%) qualified to enroll next year for grade 12 or the National Senior Certificate Advanced Level (NSSCAS).A disappointed minister of education, art and culture, Ms. Anna Nghipondoka, in a fiery message to teachers in particular, said it is very clear from the results that "effective and quality teaching" has not taken place in many schools and by many teachers all over the country. Although the minister acknowledged the mark that Covid-19 left on the mastery of skills due to reduced teaching and learning time, as well as a rationalized learning plan at different levels, according to her, this is not an excuse.She referred to the Positive Deviance Study which indicated good performances by schools with resource shortages, but where the management at the school in question was good. These achievements were better than at schools with the necessary resources, but which were without adequate management.She admitted that due to a decrease in their budget, the ministry was also unable to fill all required positions for school and department heads, but emphasized that this is where the accountability of teachers comes in."It is not necessary that a well-qualified and accountable teacher needs an inspector, school or head of department to play policeman over their teaching," she emphasized.Nghipondoka says the disruption due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 due to extended closures of schools has put a big damper on education.According to her, this has had a ripple effect on the achievements of candidates who did not have education under normal circumstances and which includes this year&#039;s candidates who in 2020 came up short. This includes those who were then in grade 9 and last year in grade 10 or 11 and progressed to grade 11 or 12 in 2022.In particular, she expressed her shock at the fact that 420 pupils could not achieve any marks in the mathematics second paper."We found that some pupils could not even work out 10% of a given amount! Then I ask myself what happened in those classes during their school career of 12 years?"Nghipondoka says it is very clear from answer sets that some subjects in certain subjects and which were prescribed by the curriculum, were not taught at all."If this is what is happening in our schools, it must be stopped immediately."This year&#039;s full-time candidates of 38,019 is a significant decrease of 8,958 candidates compared to last year&#039;s group who took the exams.The performance of pupils in physics and biology improved throughout the symbols, although the number of candidates achieving symbols in biology decreased.The national average performance in commercial subjects has improved drastically, largely due to good results in business studies, economics and entrepreneurship. Only accounting did not improve.The average performance in all social science subjects, including geography, decreased slightly compared to last year. A* and A symbols are mostly similar to last year, with only a decrease of 0.1%.With reference to languages, an average of 64% of the candidates achieved a C symbol and above for first languages. Candidates did better than last year in metal and woodwork and also office practice. The national average of candidates achieving symbols decreased by 0.7% compared to 2021.Part-time candidates who obtained D symbols are 43.3%, a huge decrease of 15.3% compared to last year.In total, 9,215 candidates registered for the advanced level (AS). Of these, 8,624 were full-time and 591 part-time. Performance in physics showed an improvement of 1.4% and 0.7% for A and B symbols respectively. An average of 81.2% of the candidates achieved symbols, while 18.8% could not achieve any symbol in certain subjects.Nghipondoka made a serious appeal to senior education officers and inspectors to fulfill their supervisory and advisory roles. She also warned directors to ensure all structures are in place for the ministry to ensure efficient and accountable service delivery at all schools.“Internal efficiency must be achieved through targeted interventions. Clear objectives must be used to hold teachers accountable."

Covid, lack of resources no excuse for poor results

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Namibian Sun 2025-01-10

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Covid, lack of resources no excuse for poor results

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Namibian Sun 2025-01-10

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