Grade 10 Results Deserve No Applause

THE analysis of the grade 10/12 results in the media came at a time when I was compiling my concerns about the failure trend. The improvements in the results are so insignificant that they deserve no applause. About 50.3% of fulltime grade 10 candidates made it to grade 11. The remaining 49.7 succumbed.

There is almost an equilibrium between those who passed and those who failed whilst more passes are desired. Each year history repeats itself or even worse.The aftermath of the failure is that the government and parents have to reinvest in these people to reintegrate them into the system to hopefully become productive citizens at the expense of national and household priorities. The decision by the Ministry of Education to allow eligible learners to repeat grade 10 is another measure which bears its own limitations though. Namcol is another alternative with self-explanatory results.Folks, this should be the thinking of all of us: if we do not possess appropriate and adequate skills, we will not be able to innovate ideas that will put our resources or ourselves to use. This is why we harbour unemployment. If the current generation does not work hard to close the gap, the fiasco and its consequences will spill over for the future generation to bear.Pressure, panic and chaos are evident with educational authorities at the beginning of every academic year as they have to remedially respond to the perpetual fiasco. Undoubtedly the teacher-learner-parent scapegoat scenario persists. In principle the teachers blame the learners and parents; the learners blame the teachers and the system and so do the parents. However the commitment of the three stakeholders is equally questionable.Little do the learners know that learning is not confined to the classroom. It should be an individual commitment to want to know more about things that happen around us. Why do we have to wait for someone to present them to us in a classroom? Or for someone to write a book about it? The media for example has been very instrumental in educating the public. With advancements in technology some do have access to the Internet but I am not sure if it is used to research on issues that enhance personal growth and capacity. There are those who temporarily commit themselves to read books and conduct research for the purpose of an interview, assignment or exam but not really for self-gain and intellectual empowerment. Reading is an occasional engagement just to pass an exam or interview.Surely we would have opposite outcomes if learners had the same enthusiasm as that which is manifested for social activities, music and the likes. If you ask a 15-year old from the most remote village about the Dogg and Gazza, they know about them and can even sing along fluently to the music but if you ask him about the thirteen regions there will be an eternal pause for a response.I am fully aware of some persisting challenges particularly in the rural areas. Nevertheless these challenges cannot be matched by those that were in place during the apartheid era which subjected the indigenous people to a prejudicial system. They were taught in Afrikaans, a language they did not understand. They were not allowed to use calculators; they travelled long distances to schools, having to balance this with intensive household chaos. The political instability of the time was another limiting factor. It was at a time when the importance of education was not widely understood. Therefore the current failure rates and accompanying excuses are unacceptable.I would like to caution all learners to take their studies seriously and to revise the time they invest in unbeneficial activities towards their studies. Guidance at household level is critical and should be addressed vigorously. Parents should constantly monitor the performance of their children. In addition to this children should be morally educated in order for them to have a disciplined approach towards their endeavours. There are numerous socio economic risks in entrusting the future of this country to individuals who cannot pass a grade 10, if things do not change, Vision 2030 will remain a utopia.Priscilla LyakwataWindhoek