WINDHOEK – Twenty-three high school learners who were banned from sitting for national external examinations for a period of one year after being implicated in the 2012 Grade 10 and 12 final year examination question papers scam in the Zambezi Region, were finally allowed to enrol in formal schools again early this year.
In an interview yesterday the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Alfred Ilukena told New Era the Zambezi Regional Education Directorate has been directed early in January to allow the learners to enrol for the 2014 school year.
This is after the one year period ban lapsed last year.
“They have been informed through their regional education office to register this year. The ministry told the Zambezi regional education directorate to accept them if they come for registration. We gave this directive early January,” Ilukena said.
The acting deputy director in the Zambezi regional education directorate, Leonard Sinvula, confirmed yesterday that all the learners have since been registered by various schools.
The ban was seen as a harsh lesson for would-be offenders when the ministry instituted strong punitive measures against the culprits in the scam. The learners, who were recipients of leaked examination question papers and answer sheets also had their 2012 final year examination results nullified. The leaking of the question papers took place in October 2012 when the learners were preparing to sit for the final external examinations. The papers were leaked by a former employee of the National Institute for Educational Development (NIED), Prisca Manga Wakumelo, who also had to face the music. At the time the 23 learners acted against the rules and regulations of the Education Act the late Dr Abraham Iyambo was the education minister. The Act gives the education minister the power to direct that the learners not be allowed to sit for a national examination for a period of one year in such cases. Though their question papers were marked their results were nullified and the ministry of education at the time directed that the learners not be allowed to sit for any national examination for a period of one year. The education ministry investigation at the time also established that the English Second Language, Development Studies, Biology, History, Agriculture and Business Studies question and answer papers were sold to the 23 full- and part-time learners.
The investigation also established that the leaked examination question papers were sold at Mayuni, Sikosinyana, Caprivi, Kizito and Sanjo secondary schools. The scam was fortunately confined to the Zambezi Region and that 14 out of the 23 learners involved were registered as full-time candidates and nine were part-time candidates registered with the Namibian College of Open Learning (Namcol). The Grade 10 learners were exonerated since there was no evidence pointing to the leaking or selling of any question papers or answer sheets for examinations of that grade. In an effort to restore credibility in the national examinations and assessment regime, as well as to restore the education sector’s image, the ministry’s investigation was conducted nationwide and stakeholders in education were thoroughly consulted.
By Albertina Nakale