IGCSE results better, but …

AN estimated 3 393 of the 14 319 full-time Grade 12 students who wrote the IGCSE exams last year will qualify for admission to the Polytechnic of Namibia and the University of Namibia, the Ministry of Education announced yesterday.

According to the Ministry, the latest International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) results were the best since the Cambridge education system was introduced in Namibian schools 12 years ago. GRADES, AND GRADES Still, the Ministry conceded that the main improvement had been in the average to lower grades.Students are graded from A to G in the various subjects that they write.The Ministry said that only 37,8 per cent of candidates obtained a D grade or better.Admission to Unam and the Polytechnic is based on the requirement that candidates must be graded on a C-Grade at IGCSE level and a Grade Three at HIGCSE.The Directorate of National Examination and Assessment said some 93,1 per cent of full-time students who wrote the exams at 112 examination centres countrywide were graded, compared to 92,2 per cent in 2005.Candidates were “still under-performing at most grades”, the Ministry said.”The trend of improvement of the full-time results over the past years was maintained for the fifth year in succession in 2006.”The improvement was significant for the average to lower grades but less significant for the higher grades,” the Directorate said.According to the Ministry, the improvements resulted in the highest percentage of full-time entries being graded (93,1 per cent) and also the best results being obtained over the whole grade range so far.”However, if the overall results should be evaluated in absolute terms, it is to be noted that in spite of the increase in the percentage of graded entries and the better performance over almost the whole grade range, if compared to previous years, only 37,8 per cent of the entries obtained D and better grades whilst a cumulative percentage of around 50 per cent of higher would have been more satisfactory,” the Directorate said.PART-TIME The results of part-time candidates showed a marked improvement, with 81,2 per cent of subject entries graded compared to the 79,8 per cent in 2005.It was the first time that more than 80 per cent of the part-time subject entries were graded.”If compared to 2005 the part-time results show a significant improvement in the grade range C and G whilst for grades B and A* the results remained almost the same as in 2005,” it said.Of the 27 669 candidates last year, 14 319 (51,8 per cent) were full-time candidates and 13 350 (48,2 per cent) part-time.It was not clear how many of the part-time candidates can actually make it into Unam or Polytechnic because they accumulate credits over a couple of years and normally only meet university admission only after a number of exams.The majority of part-time candidates were registered with the Namibian College of Open Learning (Namcol).The Directorate also announced that the IGCSE and HIGCSE exams of Cambridge will be replaced by the Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate (NSSC) as from October this year.Last year was the last time for the IGCSE and HIGCSE exams to be written in Namibia.The Directorate said the new NSSC qualification will enjoy the same recognition and acceptance as IGCSE and HIGCSE qualifications according to an agreement with the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES).Apart from the regional offices and schools, the results will also be available on the website of the Directorate of National Examinations and Assessment (www.dnea.gov.na).GRADES, AND GRADES Still, the Ministry conceded that the main improvement had been in the average to lower grades.Students are graded from A to G in the various subjects that they write.The Ministry said that only 37,8 per cent of candidates obtained a D grade or better.Admission to Unam and the Polytechnic is based on the requirement that candidates must be graded on a C-Grade at IGCSE level and a Grade Three at HIGCSE.The Directorate of National Examination and Assessment said some 93,1 per cent of full-time students who wrote the exams at 112 examination centres countrywide were graded, compared to 92,2 per cent in 2005.Candidates were “still under-performing at most grades”, the Ministry said.”The trend of improvement of the full-time results over the past years was maintained for the fifth year in succession in 2006.”The improvement was significant for the average to lower grades but less significant for the higher grades,” the Directorate said. According to the Ministry, the improvements resulted in the highest percentage of full-time entries being graded (93,1 per cent) and also the best results being obtained over the whole grade range so far.”However, if the overall results should be evaluated in absolute terms, it is to be noted that in spite of the increase in the percentage of graded entries and the better performance over almost the whole grade range, if compared to previous years, only 37,8 per cent of the entries obtained D and better grades whilst a cumulative percentage of around 50 per cent of higher would have been more satisfactory,” the Directorate said.PART-TIME The results of part-time candidates showed a marked improvement, with 81,2 per cent of subject entries graded compared to the 79,8 per cent in 2005.It was the first time that more than 80 per cent of the part-time subject entries were graded.”If compared to 2005 the part-time results show a significant improvement in the grade range C and G whilst for grades B and A* the results remained almost the same as in 2005,” it said.Of the 27 669 candidates last year, 14 319 (51,8 per cent) were full-time candidates and 13 350 (48,2 per cent) part-time.It was not clear how many of the part-time candidates can actually make it into Unam or Polytechnic because they accumulate credits over a couple of years and normally only meet university admission only after a number of exams.The majority of part-time candidates were registered with the Namibian College of Open Learning (Namcol).The Directorate also announced that the IGCSE and HIGCSE exams of Cambridge will be replaced by the Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate (NSSC) as from October this year.Last year was the last time for the IGCSE and HIGCSE exams to be written in Namibia.The Directorate said the new NSSC qualification will enjoy the same recognition and acceptance as IGCSE and HIGCSE qualifications according to an agreement with the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES).Apart from the regional offices and schools, the results will also be available on the website of the Directorate of National Examinations and Assessment (www.dnea.gov.na).