CoD pins poor education, joblessness on govt

Congress of Democrats (CoD) president Ben Ulenga says government’s failure to provide adequate and sufficient education resources has given the rise to high unemployment. Ulenga said many youth are roaming the streets after failing to attain the required marks to proceed to Grade 11 and Grade 12. Last year out of the 34 054 candidates who sat for the Grade 10 examination, only 18 613 qualified for admission to Grade 11, while Grade 12 higher level candidates recorded a pass rate of 95%, compared to 94% in 2012 Ulenga blamed the youth’s bleak future on government not implementing free secondary education, so they can repeat their grades. The party urged government to implement this as soon possible. According to Ulenga, free education should be provided to secondary school learners, as well as tertiary students, as their many of their parents cannot afford to contribute. This situation, Ulenga says is further aggravated by the lack of classroom space to accommodate young repeaters aged below 16. He added many children living in Windhoek’s’ informal settlements, such as Hakahana, Havana and Samora Machel, are now in the dark about their future. “This harsh and uncaring attitude taken by government and education officials towards the education of the poor and unemployed or otherwise needy Namibian citizens, we condemn in the strongest terms possible. We have noted that at present many learners have not yet been admitted to the schools of their choice, and many others have not been allowed to repeat Grade 10, but have been referred to Namcol against their wishes,” said Ulenga. He added that government has to step in and provide for those who cannot provide for themselves, saying Namibia’s resources belong to all who live in it and not just a few. “The demand placed by education on the poor and unemployed parents and guardians is simply not bearable. “We therefore call on government to ensure a fairer distribution of the country’s resources, by among other things, providing, not sham, but truly free and compulsory education to all the country’s youth, in a straightforward and adequate fashion,” Ulenga said. WINDHOEK FAITH SANKWASA