School Failure Rate Is A Time Bomb

ALLOW me a space in your paper to express my concern about the way the examinations statistics for Grade 10 and 12 appear to be manipulated for political gain.

I have observed that the way in which the general public is informed about the pass or failure rates of learners it is politically manipulative to such an extent that ordinary people would not get a clear message of what is happening to their kids. In my view the way that the Grade 10 learners are failing is nothing more than a time bomb that awaits the country in few years to come if the situation is not reversed.Let’s look at the frontpage headline of The Namibian of 22 December 2005, which reads: ‘Over half of Grade 10s fail, Performance is up, says Ministry’.It is surprising for the line Ministry to say that performance is up when half of the candidates did not make it.The Director of the National Examinations and Assessments on the NBC news review was trying to tell the nation that the media do not understand the matter because learners have not failed, but they have just not met the minimum requirements.Is ungraded not synonymous with failure, Mr Van der Merwe, if we are to be honest? What do you do with someone who did not meet the minimum requirements? The other picture that these statistics hide is to indicate the educational regions that are really feeling the pinch.For me it makes sense to break these statistics down according to the Educational Regions and clearly indicate that the 13 143 of 30 059 learners who did not make it are from which regions.This can be done by means of a graph or chart.If this was done you would find out that maybe half of 13 143 learners who did not make it are from Oshana or Ohangwena, Rundu or Omusati.Equally you are likely to find out that half of those who passed are either from the Hardap or Khomas Regions.In so doing, the politicians (governors) can take an active role in Education in their respective regions.This will also work in favour of those regions who badly need resources to address the situation.If this state of affairs continues, some people will continue to suffer and be dumped at Namcol, which doesn’t solve matters.Surely if you don’t want learners to repeat Grade 10 why do you have to create another institution to take them on board which does not even offer proper classes because of a limited budget? It is also the duty of the media to investigate the results statistics and portray the true picture.At the moment I think the media simply take what is given to them at face value.I hope this will change during the next round when the Directorate of Examinations releases IGCSE 2005 results.In my view the notion that the system must pass and fail people because the economy cannot absorb all the people if they all pass does not make sense.The army of unemployed and unemployable young people that we are building through Grade 10 failures will one day turn against us.It is clear warning when you have leaders who do not tell the truth or suggest alternative options to solve problems.The fact is that most of the leaders have their kids in schools that do not have this failure rate every year.Concerned Parent WindhoekIn my view the way that the Grade 10 learners are failing is nothing more than a time bomb that awaits the country in few years to come if the situation is not reversed.Let’s look at the frontpage headline of The Namibian of 22 December 2005, which reads: ‘Over half of Grade 10s fail, Performance is up, says Ministry’.It is surprising for the line Ministry to say that performance is up when half of the candidates did not make it.The Director of the National Examinations and Assessments on the NBC news review was trying to tell the nation that the media do not understand the matter because learners have not failed, but they have just not met the minimum requirements.Is ungraded not synonymous with failure, Mr Van der Merwe, if we are to be honest? What do you do with someone who did not meet the minimum requirements? The other picture that these statistics hide is to indicate the educational regions that are really feeling the pinch.For me it makes sense to break these statistics down according to the Educational Regions and clearly indicate that the 13 143 of 30 059 learners who did not make it are from which regions.This can be done by means of a graph or chart.If this was done you would find out that maybe half of 13 143 learners who did not make it are from Oshana or Ohangwena, Rundu or Omusati.Equally you are likely to find out that half of those who passed are either from the Hardap or Khomas Regions.In so doing, the politicians (governors) can take an active role in Education in their respective regions.This will also work in favour of those regions who badly need resources to address the situation.If this state of affairs continues, some people will continue to suffer and be dumped at Namcol, which doesn’t solve matters.Surely if you don’t want learners to repeat Grade 10 why do you have to create another institution to take them on board which does not even offer proper classes because of a limited budget? It is also the duty of the media to investigate the results statistics and portray the true picture.At the moment I think the media simply take what is given to them at face value.I hope this will change during the next round when the Directorate of Examinations releases IGCSE 2005 results.In my view the notion that the system must pass and fail people because the economy cannot absorb all the people if they all pass does not make sense.The army of unemployed and unemployable young people that we are building through Grade 10 failures will one day turn against us.It is clear warning when you have leaders who do not tell the truth or suggest alternative options to solve problems.The fact is that most of the leaders have their kids in schools that do not have this failure rate every year.Concerned Parent Windhoek