Is G symbol in Grade 12 a pass or not?

EDUCATION Deputy Minister David Namwandi this week said that Grade 12 Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate (NSSC) ordinary level subject entries are considered a pass if the subject entry has been graded, yet in order to be awarded a G symbol candidates only need to score 20 per cent.

Namwandi was speaking at a media conference in Windhoek on Tuesday where the Grade 12 NSSC ordinary level examinations results were announced. Namwandi said the results from last year showed an improvement on those from 2010, as more subject entries were graded in 2011 than in 2010.Last year 93,6 per cent of subject entries were graded, an increase of 0,5 per cent when compared to the results from 2010 where 93,1 per cent of subject entries were graded.When asked at the media conference what percentage of candidates had passed the Grade 12 NSSC ordinary level exams, Namwandi said that where a subject entry has been graded, it is considered as a pass, and where it is ungraded it is considered as a fail.The exam marks allocated to Grade 12 candidates are translated into symbols, ranging from A* to G, and these in turn have a points value which, when added together, determines whether a candidate qualifies for admission to tertiary education.An A* is allocated where a student has scored above 90 per cent or above in an exam, and the star designates a distinction. An A is allocated where a candidate scores between 80 per cent and 90 per cent, and B is allocated where a candidate has scored between 70 per cent and 80 per cent.The symbols each represent a 10 per cent interval of marks obtained, with each symbol representing a lower percentage bracket than the symbol before it, and the lowest symbol which can be obtained is a G, which represents a mark of between 20 per cent and 30 per cent for a specific exam.In light of this, Namwandi’s statement that if a subject entry has been graded it is considered as a pass, should be seen as noteworthy, as it means that a candidate only needs to obtain 20 per cent in an exam in order to pass a particular subject.In the 2011 Grade 12 NSSC ordinary exams, 17 607 G symbols were allocated to full-time and part-time candidates out of 151 021 subject entries. This means that in 11 per cent of subject entries, Grade 12 candidates only scored between 20 per cent and 30 per cent in their exams.Susan Brown, principal of the Combretum Trust School in Windhoek, told The Namibian earlier this week that there are no clear criteria for what constitutes a pass or a fail at Grade 12.With regards to the numerical values awarded to the symbols, an A is worth seven points, a B is worth six points and so the value of the symbols decrease to G which has the lowest value of one point.Sadly, some Grade 12 candidates have obtained more than one G, with some having been awarded as many as four Gs.Both the University of Namibia (Unam) and the Polytechnic of Namibia have set a minimum admission requirement of a total of 25 points from the five best subjects for degree programmes. Namwandi also said on Tuesday that it is expected that more than six thousand full-time and part-time candidates will qualify for admission to university. However a combined total of 79 450 subject entries were allocated E, F and G symbols, where the highest points value, namely for an E symbol, is three points.This means that 52 per cent of all subject entries for the 2011 Grade 12 NSSC ordinary level exam did not receive higher than an E symbol, and have a maximum points value of only 3 points each.Of these subject entries, 33 002 were awarded E symbols, 28 841 were awarded F symbols and he remaining 17 607 were awarded G symbols.The Ministry of Education regards the 2011 Grade 12 exam results as an improvement on those from 2010, yet more than half of the subject entries were allocated a maximum of between 40 per cent and 50 per cent.

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