By Staff Reporter WINDHOEK Concerned about poor performance of some secondary schools in the Kunene Region, the Swapo regional coordinator for that region has called on education authorities to examine the causes and to find remedies. Although there have been noted improvements in the performance, Samtaca Katjizemo said the region persistently remains at the bottom of the national ranking and was a cause for concern. “I view this tendency of a good pass rate in one year and a disappointing drop in the other as an indication of survival in schools and an issue of sustained standards and effective teaching,” he said in a statement commenting on the Grade 10 results. The schools that dropped in their performances, about which he said the party is worried, include Outjo and Jacob Basson secondary schools, Elias Amxab Combined School and Mureti Senior Secondary School. He urged stakeholders in the education sector to examine the poor performance at Welwitchia and Putuavanga Junior Secondary schools and to institute drastic measures that will rescue the schools. “Serious, strong, competent, capable, committed and willing leadership should be assigned to the above schools as a matter of urgency,” the regional Swapo coordinator said. Katjizemo said that every year learners were sent to the streets after failing Grade 10, and called on all parents and guardians to send their children to Namcol as the country could not “afford to send our learners en masse to the streets every year”. As a whole, the region improved its average from 28.5 percent in 2005 to 32.1 percent in 2006 which, Katjizemo said, was worth complimenting the teachers for the relentless efforts. Although situated in remote areas, Okanguati and Orumana Combined Schools and Cornelius Goreseb in Khorixas were commended for showing a steady improvement over the past three years. Due to this, Katjizemo said the excuse of lack of resources at schools would not hold water since it was proved that rural schools, with hardly any resources, could advance. He said he had had consultations with stakeholders and found that English remains the major reason for poor performance in the region. “Our learners cannot read, write or speak English properly, making it difficult for them to learn content subjects since the text books and the question papers are in English,” he added. Since this has to do with the foundation laid at primary level, he was calling on education authorities to conduct English workshops for teachers at this level.