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Reasons Not to Celebrate the 2024 Exam Results

The results for the 2024 National Senior Secondary Certificate (NSSCO) and the National Senior Secondary Certificate Advanced Subsidiary (NSSCAS) examinations were released on 14 January. 

Basic education minister Anna Nghipondoka characterised them as an improvement on the 2023 results and said they indicated favourable progress in educational outcomes. 

THE PAIN OF WAITING

Candidates sat for the first NSSCO and NSSCAS subjects on 14 and 21 October, respectively. The last subjects in the two examinations were written on 20 November. 

Waiting can be distressing. Parents too are affected. 

Besides pondering the fate of their children, they were left with little time to make financial and other arrangements related to educational options available to their children. 

The youth deserve better. Around 10 years ago, pupils knew their results by the end of December or during the first week of January. 

Can the release of the results be expedited? 

We believe if education officials prioritise pupils and put shoulders to the wheel, the results can be released before the new year. 

KNOWLEDGE HOARDING

The results lacked crucial data necessary in the management of the education sector. ‘Deduct, conceal, keep and manage’ appear to be the dictum underlying the release of the results. 

Information on pupil performance and, by extension, of individual subject teachers and schools has been withheld from the public. 

The ministry website contains no information on the results. 

Currently, it only provides guidance to candidates on how to get their individual results. Ordinary citizens cannot access them. 

This leaves members of school boards unable to evaluate the performance of the schools they oversee and unable to assess the effectiveness of individual subject teachers. 

Parents, local and regional leaders, corporate stakeholders and civil organisations active in the education sector are unable to evaluate school performance in their areas. 

Effective governance relies on all involved having access to accurate information. 

Understanding performance is crucial for managing schools. It empowers parents and key stakeholders to hold education officials accountable. 

The public was given a statement on the results which provided only aggregated outcomes for individual subjects over the past two years. 

This included a national ranking of regions and announced accolades for a few high-performing schools, pupils and teachers. 

It left ordinary citizens without insight on the performance of pupils, teachers and principals at individual schools. 

Where would a researcher go if she/he wanted to compare pupils’ performances in various subjects at specific schools, circuits and regions? 

The full report on the results is yet to be made public. 

Information technology provides numerous ways of extracting detailed examination data without revealing a candidate’s identity. 

Aggregate outcomes and ranking regions and schools hides underperforming schools. 

It fails to inform citizens about schools that consistently fail to produce a single pupil to progress to Grade 12. 

AWKWARD MEASURES

The ministry’s statement on the provisional 2024 results shows improvement over those of 2023. 

However, improvement does not always equal success. Success typically refers to achieving a specific goal or outcome. 

To accurately measure success in this context, one must compare the results against key performance indicators outlined in the ministry’s strategic plan.  

There appears to be no alignment between key performance indicators mentioned in the minister’s statement and those in the ministry’s strategic plan 2017/18 – 2021/22 (available on the ministry website). 

In addition, the online strategic plan only extends to the financial year ending 2022. 

Comparing the results to the plan is therefore not possible. 

Success can only be measured by setting organisational goals and determining whether such goals have been achieved. 

It is reasonable to assume that the 40 757 full time candidates who sat for the NSSCO examination aimed to progress to Grade 12. 

If that was not the case, we would not have 39 002 part-time candidates sitting for the same exam. 

Part-time candidates represent candidates from previous NSSCO exams who could not gain the required points to progress to Grade 12. 

Of the full-time candidates who sat for the 2024 exams, 28 727 (70%) did not qualify to progress to Grade 12. 

Ending up at the Namibia College of Open Learning (the most likely destination) was not part of their dream.  

One can hardly claim success when 70% of pupils could not realise their aspirations.

ZERO CONSEQUENCES

Unfortunately, teachers, principals and officials who contributed to poor pupil performance continue their ineffective practices year after year, essentially “repeating” without facing any accountability. 

This is a luxury not afforded to pupils. 

Genuine and transparent self-reflection, coupled with accountability processes, are essential to ensure that progress extends beyond the improved results of a few high achieving pupils and teachers. 

The first step in addressing underperformance is to be transparent about shortcomings in the system and cause the responsible parties to explain their actions. 

By not openly reporting on underperforming schools, we risk prolonging and normalising the failure of pupils. 

* Chris Shatona and Hannu Shipena, the Improvement Network Trust, which aims to promote positive change and improvements in education and leadership across sectors in Namibia.

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