Minister of education Anna Nghipondoka has urged education directors to begin conducting awareness meetings in their regions to clarify every aspect of the current curriculum.
The minister said after the implementation of the new curriculum, confusion erupted among parents, as they do not see how effective it is and said their children’s careers are at stake.
She mentioned most parents cannot make head or tail of the new curriculum and this makes them think that if their children fail grade 11, it is over for them, which is not the case.
“If the directors, teachers and principals conducted awareness at the beginning, many parents would have an understanding of the new curriculum,” Nghipondoka said on Saturday during a meeting with parents at Eenhana in the Ohangwena region.
The minister and different officers informed the parents about the new curriculum.
This emerged after certain parents forwarded complaints to the governor of Ohangwena, saying they needed the minister to give more information in person.
Therefore, she said, it is imperative that the office of the director of education ensures that the parents are well fed with the right information regarding the new curriculum to avoid confusion.
She encouraged parents to stop messages such as the street awaits children after grade 11.
“We have 64 institutions in Namibia both with different high education programmes and accredited by NQA, so if a learner fails to obtain the grade 12 requirements, they have numerous chances of furthering their studies at any institution of their choice,” Nghipondoka said.
She further explained, the main aim of changing the curriculum is for Namibia to be at the same education pace as other countries.
“Grade 12 admits only learners that passed well in grade 11. In addition, this gives them the chance of studying subjects that are in line with their career options. For that reason, parents do not need to feel downhearted when the learner does not qualify for grade 12, they still can go to university and vocational training centres,” Nghipondoka clarified.
The minister was also upset that learners do not have any prior knowledge about career guidance or career choices. Thus, she advised particularly Life Skills teachers to give the necessary information about different careers, as this will help learners to make the right choices of what they would like to pursue.
She further stated that parents must refrain from forcing children to study programmes that are not of their choice. This leads them to failure because they have neither desire nor passion for the course.