Erongo second in national exam ratings

THE Erongo Region’s Grade 10 pass rate for 2008 is less than half a per cent lower than in 2007, and the region boasts with second place in Namibia.

Grade 12 statistics are not available yet, but according to the Inspector of Education for the Swakopmund Circuit, Clementine Tsumis-Garises, Erongo is likely to end second there too.
She told The Namibian that 55 per cent of the region’s 1 818 Grade 10s passed compared to 59 per cent in 2007, indicating a drop of 0,4 per cent.
The drop in the JSC results, she explained, could be due to many factors. Class sizes were very big, with up to 42 students in some schools.
The introduction of a new curriculum also could have been more challenging to the pupils. There was also an exodus of qualified teachers to private schools, according to her, and it was difficult to make new appointments quickly enough.
‘The human factor cannot be ruled out. Teachers play a critical role, but some teachers might lack commitment and thus not assist the learners to perform to their full potential,’ she said.
‘Many learners also do not take their studies seriously thus give minimum co-operation, and rather concentrate on other issues than education.’ Coastal schools have a serious shortage of space for first-graders this year.
Although the Grade 1 enrolments have not been finalised, the Inspector said 1 806 children have enrolled at Swakopmund and Walvis Bay. There is only place for 1 511 children.
‘We have a shortage of space for 295 Grade 1 learners; that is equivalent to nine classrooms,’ she told The Namibian.
In general, Tsumis-Garises said the biggest challenge faced in the region is making education accessible to all pupils searching for placement, especially in the coastal schools where developments in the mining and fishing sectors contribute greatly to the influx of people who need placement for their children.
Another challenge is attracting experienced, well-qualified teachers to the region’s rural schools, but she added that the Ministry of Education is looking at incentives to make teaching in rural schools attractive.
Successes for 2008 were the provision of resources for schools, such as textbooks through the donation of ETSIP, and school furniture through regional funding.
She said there were also ‘slight improvements’ in parental involvement that could be observed.
‘This is a new year with new challenges, but also with new opportunities. We urge our schools to double their efforts to improve from second position to first position at the end of 2009,’ she concluded.