Results show slight improvement

EDUCATION Minister Abraham Iyambo said there is room for significant improvement in the pass rate of Grade 12 Higher Level and Grade 10 when he announced the results yesterday.

But he said that there was a slight improvement in the results. The results will be available from this morning.The minister congratulated the top 10 performers who achieved the highest marks in six or five of the higher level subjects in Grade 12.This year Andreas Eggert from Otjiwarongo Secondary School is the best overall achiever. He is followed by Bianca Peters from St George’s Diocesan College in Windhoek and Charles Fourie in third place from Windhoek High School. Christof van Zijl and Efemena Ogbokor, both from St Paul’s College, achieved the best performance in five higher level subjects. This year 10 610 of 52 529 Grade 12 candidates (full-time and part-time) wrote one or more higher level subjects. The number of higher level candidates who enrolled for the exams increased by 0,3% compared to last year. A total of 67,2% of the candidates met university entry requirements. Last year’s percentage was 68,7%. Higher Level examination results show that most candidates were able to obtain grades 3 and 4 which is better than last year. However, there has also been an increase in an ungraded (U) scores – from 3,8% last year to 4,6% this year.The number of full-time Grade 10 candidates who wrote the Junior Secondary Certificate examinations stood at 33 428. The ministry noted a decrease of 2 212 (6%) candidates compared to the 2011 enrolment figures.A total of 2 966 part-time entries failed to show up to write their exams. For Grade 10, the best performer out of all 13 regions is Darren Diergaardt from the Hardap Region. Regional rankings show that the Oshikoto Region retains top position followed by Omusati in second, Oshana in third, Erongo in fourth, Ohangwena in fifth, Caprivi in sixth, Kavango in seventh, Omaheke in eighth (from last place), Kunene in ninth, Khomas in tenth place, Otjozondjupa in eleventh, Karas in twelfth and Hardap at the tail end of the log. ‘We congratulate the regions which have done exceptionally well and we encouraged those who have dropped to identify factors which have hampered their performance,’ said Iyambo. For admission to Grade 11, candidates must score at least 23 points. The number of points scored in their best six subjects must include at least an F in English. Points are awarded on a symbol scale ranging from an A being the highest and G the lowest. An A symbol constitutes seven points and a G scores one point. Out of the 33 428 candidates who wrote the Grade 10 examination this year, 17 407 passed. Admission to Grade 11 is expected to increase as part-time students who passed push the number up to 20 107. English is among the 14 subjects in which the performance of candidates was poorer than last year. Subjects in which candidates showed improvement are Agriculture, History, Mathematics and Life Science. Accounting still remains a subject most candidates battle and 11 percent of the candidates were classified under-graded for the subject.Part-time students however, have achieved better marks in Accounting than full-time candidates as Accounting and Entrepreneurship are two subjects where Namcol students have shown significant improvement. The results of 54 hearing and visually impaired candidates will also be published along with the rest of the JSC results. Those who wish to have their subjects re-marked must pay N$110 per subject. Grade 10 candidates who are not promoted to Grade 11 have been advised to enrol at Namcol or other distance learning institutions or vocational training centres. Only pupils who are younger than 17 will be allowed to repeat Grade 10 at a public school.