Call For Forensic Audit Of Results

DEAR Editor, I am an educator with a B.Sc.(Hons.) M.Sc. and H.D.E. I have 30 years of experience in education at secondary and tertiary levels mainly in Namibia, but with considerable exposure to other international education systems.

I have been running Combretum Trust School for eight years. Every year the publication of the examination marks has led to puzzlement and disappointment, and I am now tired of it and have decided to make my concerns public. There regularly seems to be no match between the candidate involved and the marks achieved. In some subjects the marks are often higher than can be justified, some seem to fit with the ability of the candidate, and in others, most noticeably Biology, Geography and Mathematics, the marks are unbelievably low.In 2010 I insisted on looking at the exam papers for NSSC Ordinary Level Biology and Geography papers, which had been written in 2009. This caused a furore at the Department of National Examinations and Assessment, whose officials expressed shock that anyone could ask for anything so ‘bizarre’. Eventually I pushed so hard that they gave in.My staff members and I were invited to look at the papers and how they had been marked. We were treated extremely rudely, but in the end we did get to look at the papers. What we found was that the marking was poor, the memos were poor, the markers clearly had no in- depth knowledge of the subjects and were applying the memos blindly. For example, questions starting with the word ‘suggest’ are supposed to challenge the candidate to come up with an idea of his/her own, but these were just marked wrong if the (perfectly valid) suggestion of the candidate was not the same as the alternative suggestion given on the memo.In addition, it was very clear that the markers and those who had set the papers very much hammered on their special interest or their particular ‘power tool’ of knowledge whether or not this was mentioned in the syllabus or in the textbooks. When I queried how the questions and/or answers as given on the memo were not mentioned in the syllabi or in the text books, I was told that the government does not have specific authorised textbooks for the syllabuses being examined. When I asked ‘why not?’ no one could give me an acceptable answer. This is an unacceptable situation which of course means that those setting exams can give their own students an advantage, and indeed there is often a link between the success of a school in a particular subject and that subject teacher’s involvement in the examination administration.The other point, which became abundantly clear, is that there is a different standard of marking for rural schools than for most urban schools. It seems that markers are encouraged to show leniency for rural schools. Officials of the DNEA deny this categorically, but teachers who have been in the marking halls often say they have had this experience. The only exception to this seems to be the most expensive, conservative schools where one gets the impression that the markers are afraid that the candidate may be better informed than the marker, and so give the candidate the benefit of the doubt when the answer varies from the memo.There is an easy solution to close this avenue for possible inconsistencies in marking. This is to use bar codes to identify exam candidates. It is used in many countries worldwide. This way markers have no idea which school a candidate is from, or the name of any individual candidate. I suggested that the DNEA should look into implementing such a system, but there was no interest shown to the suggestion.As a result of this enquiry I was sent a bill for over N$18,000. I refused to pay. I argued that transparency is of fundamental importance and charging for transparency is corrupt. The DNEA did not pursue the matter. I have heard now that the DNEA is telling people that if they want to see the scripts they must come with a lawyer. I believe that this is unacceptable. Candidates are given marks they do not deserve, and they do not necessarily have money to hire a lawyer, and even if they do they should not have to. In all the years that I have applied for remarks I have never seen a result changed, and have come to the conclusion that no papers are re-marked at all.Combretum Trust School is a small private school with only up to 25 learners per class. We have very high standards. We employ good teachers who are experts in their subjects and who are highly dedicated to the process of educating young people. We do not allow absenteeism of teachers or any of the shortcomings which may be prevalent in the government schools. We issue textbooks to every student. We offer free afternoon classes in difficult subjects. We bring in tutors for short periods who help students free of charge. We take our mission of education very seriously. We educate well. I know this, and the success after school of our graduates proves it.I am totally disillusioned with seeing the name of our organisation I have worked so hard for, as well as the future of our students I care about, compromised by sloppy standards and highly questionable levels of professionalism by the government body responsible for setting and marking the examinations.Another very serious concern is the number of young people who commit suicide every year after the exam marks are released. Lives are being lost as a direct result of shortcomings, which I believe exist in the marking system.I challenge the professionalism and competence of the examinations system in this country. I believe that it is a large contributor to the challenges facing education in Namibia today. I believe a thorough forensic investigation into marking procedures is needed. Most of all I demand transparency from this organisation. I encourage other organisations and individuals to join me in refusing to accept what we are being given.Susan BrownDirector: Combretum Trust School