Julina Kaakunga
Every boy child in society deserves the chance to discover their own unique identity, Eros Primary School principal Jacobina Hamata said this week.
She was speaking during the official launch of the research report about underachievement and under- participation in education at the University of Namibia (UNAM).
“We should create an environment where the boy child feels safe to share their emotions,” urged Hamata, who is also the representative of primary schools in Namibia.
Joe Sasa is the principal of the Hage Geingob High School, and also representing the Namibia Secondary Schools Principals’ Association.
He said they only had a realisation about the under-performance and under- participation of male pupils when the research was being done at their respective schools. “There are more girls in schools than boys, and they therefore feel intimidated by them,” Sasa added.
The overview of the report was presented by research team leader Professor Roderick F. Zimba, focusing on the low levels of enrolment of the boy child in the education system. In every 100 graduates, 70% are women, and only 30% are male. “Being a man means using your strength in the service of others”, he defined masculinity. Zimba defined two more terms, educational achievement and gender equality. “So, these are the terms I thought were important for an occasion such as this”.
The primary objective of this more than two-year study was to delve deep into the reasons behind the noticeable disparity
in academic performance between male and female learners and students in Namibia, and what its educational and socio-economic implications were. In addition, the study sought to explore factors which influenced Namibian male learners/students’ underachievement and under-participation in education. Some of the influences found were engaging in self-destructive behaviour, dropping out of school, and withdrawal from learning activities instead of participating. It focused on suggestions of what the community, teachers, parents and other learners do in order to help male learners. One teacher proposed that there be after- school programmes which would solely focus on the boy child, as that already happens with girls.
“Something specific for the boys which will probably be led by male colleagues who would encourage them to be serious with their studies, would be
nice. That is because in most cases, they just don’t care”, the teacher added.
This study, conducted in all 14 regions of Namibia, explored how sociological, cultural, economic, political, curriculum-based quality education and psychological factors influence the underachievement and reduced participation of boys in the education system.
Females are performing better than boys in all 14 regions, with the exception of three regions only, namely Kavango East, Kavango West and Kunene. Enrolment at tertiary institutions is 70% females and 30% male.
The research used pragmatic parallel methods of research, design, systematic criterion and case study sampling techniques.
They collected data from all 14 educational regions by administering structured questionnaires to 4 659 secondary school learners, 528 secondary school teachers, 182 parents, 122 university lecturers, and 807 university and VTC students.