SMSes for Friday 20 January 2012
SMS Of The Day *The pass mark for Grade 10 was originally set at 27 points. Letting learners pass with less than 27 points can be seen as transfers. Follow up studies of learners who achieved between 22 and 26 points have shown that the majority failed Grade 12.
Food for Thought
*THERE is one fundamental truth that we need to teach all kids at this time of the year. It is not the school or the materials or the teachers that makes a good student. It is the child that makes the school. The top performer of last year knew that and faced all the challenges and made it to the top. Parents, emphasise this to your children. You will be giving your child one of the most priceless gifts ever.
*I THINK the Minister must organise a tour for all the principals in Namibia to go and visit St Boniface College in Rundu. Do it now before it’s too late.
– Rukee
Bouquets and Brickbats
*RENT-A-Drum thank you for helping us to recycle. What about taking in household batteries and helping us to dispose of them responsibly?
– Proud Windhoek resident.
*THE Namibian newspaper has once again proved that it is there for the people. It published the Grade 12 results and made them available to the public for mahala, for free. Long live The Namibian.
*CONGRATULATIONS to Da-palm School and to Natasha Kameeta. You really did very well. Keep it up.
*GOVERNMENT should give scholarships to learners like Natasha and the other top tens to study abroad for they deserve it, rather than children of the elite with no distinctions who were sent to China.
– Rural resident
*CONGRATS once again to St Boniface College. Minister please build another classroom and make that school bigger because we want to take our children there next year.
*CONGRATULATIONS to the English teacher and learners at Grootfontein Secondary School for performing well and the high marks. Only a few got E symbols. They really did a great job.
*CARBON tax, what a scam! Real scientists have proven that all human activity accounts for less than 2% of global carbon emissions per year. Does the Government think we’re all brain-dead? I mean is there still anybody out there who actually believes that we are causing global warming?
Education
*WE’VE got used to Grade 1 learners crying on their first school day. Should it be that way? Expert opinion?
*THE Government Loans Department has decided to give us papers from last year’s contracts, with 2011 scratched out with a pen and changed to 2012. The Polytechnic doesn’t want to accept this and as a result we will forfeit our hostel places. Is the Ministry of Education out of copy paper? Please sort this out!
*PLEASE Minister of Education investigate Highline Secondary School. Most of the Grade 12 leaners there were ungraded and some even ungraded in all the subjects. How is that possible? Where should we put the blame?
*I FAIL to understand why a rural school with no basic facilities is allowed to host Grade 11 after achieving a mere 5% pass record. To make things worse it’s always affected by floods. On top of that the Omusati Directorate of Education is sending learners from very far areas to Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana in Omusati Region.
*DR Iyambo can you investigate why Jan Jonker Afrikaner HS always performs poorly? They must improve their system of managing the school. Their learners are always roaming around outside the school during school hours.
*DR Namwandi please stop being dismissive of everything. This is not the first time I have heard about complaints similar to those of Combretum Trust School. This issue was raised on a number of language radio stations from different teachers throughout the country. Investigate the marking of Grade 12 papers and don’t just dismiss the complaints. Talk to principals and teachers. That will be good for education.
*MY suggestion on the alleged poor marking of Grade 12 exam papers is to have moderators who will audit a sample of each subject. That will help improving the marking of scripts.
*TEARS came to my eyes when I looked at the Grade 12 results of Döbra school. The records we left behind have all been obliterated by gadget-wearing, spoiled learners, a lesson well learnt by Natasha from Otjimbingwe, a village school.
n I TOTALLY disagree with the SMS that says seven of the top 10 pupils’ results come from two obscure rural schools! Be informed: discipline, hard work from both learners and teachers, as well as the ability to withstand hardships, is the recipe for success.
*POOR Grade 12 results in Omaheke Region once again demonstrate the lack of visionary and competent leaders at the regional education directorate. We as parents are call for the authorities to transfer them and also investigate the appointments of senior educational officers (inspectors subject advisors etc.) in the region since only a clique of incompetent people with links to top management are appointed and this contributes to poor results in the region.
A Tender Spot
*FELLOW Namibians we are missing a controversial point! Tenders are awarded to companies or personnel that can construct durable structures but not to alleviate unemployment. So stop putting the burden on Permanent Secretaries because we need long-lasting roads, bridges and so forth. We do not need roads that are flooded away due to improper mixing.
– Thomas Tomas.
City Fathers Please
Windhoek’s Zoo Park
*CITY Police do something with the young men at Zoo Park. They are bothering people, especially German tourists. Most of them are kids from exile. Remove them and ban them from the park for smoking dagga there.
*HOW many more accidents must take place at the Daan Viljoen–Otjomuise four-way stop before the City of Windhoek puts up a traffic light? I’m anxious every morning when driving across there. Must people first pay with their lives before City planners react?
– S de Klerk
In and From the Regions
*IT is about time. Swartz and Jankowski you did the right thing otherwise we will lose everything Oompie Hans and others like him brought to Rehoboth. Now all we need is somebody to bring the residents back to the proud nation we once were.
*DO Namibian laws apply only for poor people and for non-politicians or non-high ranking Government officials. The Omakange traditional leaders cut our fences to 15 hectares per person. Should it not be 20 hectares by law? Everywhere in Namibia the rich and politicians fence off large portions of land as they feel fit.
n WHEN will Divundu become a town? We are tired of travelling 200km to Rundu or 320km to Katima just to make bank deposits to our families. We have schools, the Prison Service, Namibia Defence Force, Police and many Government institutions so really something must be done. And it’s also a tourist zone.
– Concerned resident.
*WE need more shops and entertainment in Lüderitz please.
*IN the southern village of Grünau, one out of three young men is addicted to drugs.
Road Hogs
*N7203W! You drove through the red robot at St Paul’s College at 06h55 without even slowing down. You are the type of driver the students are warned about.
Health Matters
*MR Kamwi are you aware that we doctors at Katutura State Hospital cannot give quality care to patients due to a shortage of orthopaedic instruments in the theatre. We wrote several letters to the relevant authorities but got no response. Patients are cancelled on a daily basis because of this problem. Where can we go? To the President? Maybe he will listen to us. Patients are really suffering. The air-con is not functioning in theatre, a risk for wound infection. Minister please visit us.
– KSH orthopaedic doctors
Law and Order
*INMATE killed! No, no, no! This should never happen. I hope the family will take appropriate action.
*A SENIOR headman of the Gciriku Tribal Authority in Kavango Region who finds himself behind bars because of suspected rape cases has reportedly been discharged from his headmanship by the tribal chief Kassian Shiyambi. It would be judicial if he also would take action against the high-ranking senior headman who is a suspect in stock theft, misspending of tribal income funds and corruption.
*WHAT has happened to our justice system that someone on trial can chew gum during court proceedings? Just asking!
Please Help
*CAN someone please tell me where I should go in Windhoek if I want to adopt a child?
Responses to recent SMSes
*I’M reading about a response from Shoprite on customer service. The problem I have with supermarkets is they do not facilitate tellers for the elderly and pensioners. I asked employees at Pick n Pay Wernhil, and at Shoprite on Wednesday, how come the elderly were in long queues with us? This is unacceptable! We need care for our elders. They are the reason we are here and full of energy. We should allow them to be served before us when we see them standing in queues behind us.
– Yvonne