Lahja Nashuuta
Pricilla Mukokobi
Education minister Anna Nghipondoka has commended the class of 2023 for a job well done in the national examinations they sat for last year.
Announcing the NSSCO (Grade 11) and NSSCAS (grade 12) examination results yesterday, she said at the NSSCO full-time level, 11 970 candidates or 29.4% obtained 25 points and above in five subjects, compared to 15.3% or 5 812 candidates in 2022.
“This is an improvement of 14.1%.”
“At NSSCO full-time level, 48.8% (19 854 candidates) obtained 20 points and above in at least five subjects, and could qualify at institutions of higher learning for degree and diploma courses, compared to 45.6% (17 349 candidates) in 2022,” she noted.
“This is an improvement of 3.2%.”
Nghipondoka added that many NSSCAS full-time and part-time candidates qualify to enter institutions of higher learning, based on the combination of their NSSCAS and NSSCO results of the past two years.
In addition, NSSCO part-time candidates might have accumulated improved grades over the past few years to qualify for various courses at different institutions of higher learning.
In summary, the percentage NSSCO candidates who are graded in a minimum of five subjects and obtained an aggregate of 20 points is 48.8%, while 25.2% of NSSCO candidates obtained a C grade in a minimum of three subjects to qualify for progression to AS Level.
The percentage NSSCAS candidates who are graded in at least two of their (minimum three) AS Subjects are 92.8%.
This is a commendable performance indeed, Nghipondoka stated.
In total, 40 682 full-time NSSCO candidates registered for national examinations at ordinary level. This is 2 663 candidates, or 7% more, than the 38 019 full-time candidates who were registered for 2022 at the same level.
For the NSSCAS level, a total of 8 138 full-time and 935 part-time candidates registered for 2023 national examinations.
The minister acknowledged that a lot still needs to be done, saying, “There are many schools which need to improve teaching and learning. School principals need to redouble their efforts to create a conducive learning environment, and to support the teachers and learners to excel. Heads of Department at schools must ensure correct syllabus interpretation, and supervise teaching and learning.
Education Officers need to continue to give subject-specific support. Inspectors of Education must guide the school leadership, and strengthen internal and external monitoring of teaching and learning activities”.
She said schools which did not perform well during the 2023 school year must be identified in each region, and specific and intentional interventions embarked upon to bring about improvement.
Nghipondoka then thanked all those schools, teachers, learners, parents, friends of education and her staff at the regions and head office for all their positive contributions that have yielded these positive results.
Rukonga
Meanwhile, the Rukonga Vision School achieved a 100% pass rate in both the 2023 Grade 11 and AS levels.
The public school is situated in Divundu, Kavango East region, and caters for the educational needs of mostly needy children from deprived backgrounds.
A combined 233 learners sat for both exams, and out of 144 learners who wrote ordinary subsidiary level, nine made it to the top 20, whereas three out of 89 learners who wrote advanced subsidiary level also made it to the top 20 best-performers’ list.
Other schools which made it to the top 20 include St Boniface High School, Oshigambo High School, Canisianum RCS, Windhoek Technical High School and Gabriel Taapopi Secondary School.
Rukonga Vision School principal Augustina Ojoh-John labelled the NSSCO results as impressive for the school, compared to the 2022 results when the school scooped five positions on the NSSCO ordinary level’s top 20 best- performers and three on AS.
The school has attributed the good results in the pass rate to the “dedication” of both teachers and learners.
She believes if learners lack somewhere, it is for teachers to come up with different approaches to help them, other than relying on “one approach fits all”.
“It always brings a great feeling when your strategies all come to fruition. We are quite happy with the achievement of our learners for this 2023 class. I am so proud of my school which made it this far. It wasn’t easy throughout the year, but with the help of the director and the entire ministry, we managed to overcome those challenges. I am so proud of the teachers and learners. I appreciate their efforts. I feel encouraged and motivated as a teacher,” Ojoh-John beamed.
Sharing his excitement was the Windhoek Gymnasium Private School’s principal Abrie Myburgh, who attributed their pass rate to teachers’ willingness and children’s enthusiasm to learning.
“We are extremely proud of the results. We always wish for more of our learners in the top 20, but we are happy that we have four of our learners making it to the top 20 in grades 11 and 12”.
Asked to note down some of the challenges faced by the school, Myburgh said “it is about a fine line and balance between the academics and sports, and our school focuses on all legs, but most importantly education”.
Lavinia Shapumba from Windhoek High School, who secured the 9th position nationally, expressed her joy about her achievements.
“I thank God I was able to secure the 9th position nationally. At the beginning, it was not easy, but then I reminded myself about the goals I set for the year,” she said. Shapumba wrote all five subjects at AS level.
Mukelebai Mundia was also among the best performers, who secured the sixth position in the top 20 of the AS level from Rukonga Vision School, and expressed his happiness.
Mundia, who was in the top 20 in 2022, reflected on the challenges he faced last year. According to him, it was difficult due to issues with his national identity card causing stress, as one cannot apply for higher education without an ID. However, he managed to overcome these obstacles.
“I’m the firstborn in the family, and everyone looks up to me. So, I couldn’t afford to fail,” he said. Despite these achievements, Mundia faced challenges such as hearing problems and eyesight issues.