By Frederick Philander “When we talk about 100%, what are we referring to? A whole! Something that is complete. A number representing a whole entity from many smaller pieces. Khomastura forms such a WHOLE. It has learners, teachers, a principal and facilities.” So said the Chief Education Officer of the Khomas Region, Thea Seefeldt, on Friday when she officially opened an open day at the Khomastura Secondary School in the capital. Many parents, learners, teachers and principals from other schools in the capital attended the event. “If we want to be successful, we have to acknowledge hard work, knowledge and a positive attitude. It is your attitude at the beginning of a task, more than anything else, that will determine your success or failure. It is your attitude towards life, which will determine life’s attitude towards you. Despite many people’s beliefs to the contrary, life plays no favourites,” Thea Seefeldt told the attentive audience. In her view, before a person can achieve any results, he/she needs to become a positive person. “He/she must then think, walk, talk, act and conduct him/herself in all of his/her actions, as would the person he/she wishes to become. Treat everybody as the most important person in the world and watch how your life changes. Attitudes are based on assumptions. In order to change attitudes one must first change one’s assumptions. Develop an attitude that there are more reasons why you should succeed, than reasons why you should fail,” was her advice. She added: “You dear learners and educator and community members and leaders are agents of change. Change is necessary in our developing world. To bring about change is difficult, as you meet with resistance and fear of the unknown.” Seefeldt also reaffirmed President Hifikepunye Pohamba’s beliefs that education is the key to a changing world with great emphasis on education. “The President expects the schools to perform better at the end of 2007. He would like to see 90% of all Grade 10 learners to achieve enough points to be enrolled for Grade 11 and 12. Education is the greatest liberator, the greatest tool of change and in the fight of poverty,” she said. “Communities should regard education and everything connected to education as their own. It is not something initiated by government only. We all benefit from education and should therefore become involved, feel responsible and do the best we can. School communities will have to take up this challenge and vanguard education and its institutions against abuse and vandalism,” she urged.