By Albertina Nakale
WINDHOEK – Kavango’s St Boniface College and St Paul’s College in Windhoek are again the top performing high schools in the country, with the St Boniface College producing eight of the top ten learners for the 2014 Grade 12 Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate (NSSC) Ordinary level exams.
Gobabis Gymnasium Private school sprang to third position from the number six position it previously occupied. The other two top ten learners are from Rukonga Vision School, which ranks number eight and from Haimbili Haufiku Secondary School which is now ranked at number 12 from the number 16 position it previously occupied.
According to the Grade 12 examination results released yesterday the 2014 full-time candidates performed better especially at grades A, B, C and G, while their performance at grades A* and D remains the same at 00 and -6 percent respectively as in 2013. Compared to 2013, the number of full-time candidates decreased by 109, or 0.6 percent, to 19 392.
“Results of the full-time candidates show that the percentage of graded entries increased from 93 percent to 93.2 percent in 2014. This is a slightly better performance of the 2014 candidates compared to the 2013 candiddates. The candidates have performed slightly poorer at grades E and F, which was expected due to the improvement of quality symbols. I have been calling on learners that I do not want poor symbols. Performance has shifted to quality symbols,” said the Minister of Education Dr David Namwandi.
Out of 19 392 full-time candidates who sat for the Grade 12 Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate (NSSC) Ordinary level, 8 300 qualify for admission to tertiary institutions, while 1 150 learners obtained points between 20 and 24.
If considering an E symbol for admission to tertiary institutions, the number of those who qualify for university rises to 10 924.
Namwandi urged learners who did not qualify for admission to university to pursue trade skills at vocational training centres. “Please let us do away with the perception that students who follow vocational and technical routes are not useful compared to their counterparts who enter university,” he said.
The principal of St Boniface College Mary Phyllis Yesudasan yesterday said the recipe behind the school’s high achivements is the dedication of the school management. “We plan from the first day. We make sure plans are executed and we monitor and evaluate until the last day of the examinations,” said Yesudasan.
The country’s top peforming Grade 12 learner Alfons Kudumo said hard work and discipline were the secret behind his success. “It is a lot of struggle. All the credit I give to the teachers because they always motivated us,” said 18-year-old Kudumo who wants to become a chartered accountant. Following Kudumo is Arabela Makgone, the daughter of the Deputy Minister of Education Sylvia Makgone.