OPUWO - The Kunene education directorate is conducting teachers’ conferences to address the region’s poor performance in the 2023 Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate
Ordinary (NSSCO) and Advanced Subsidiary (NSSCAS) level examinations.

This was said by the region’s interim
education director Petrus Shipalanga in an interview with Wednesday, as part of a discussion on Kunene’s poor academic performance.

Despite a gradual increase in 2023
outcomes when compared to 2022, the region still underperformed and remained in 14th place in the national NSSCO rankings.

In the 2022 academic year, 11.3% of the learners who wrote the NSSCO examinations qualified for the AS level, while in 2023, 15.95% of the learners qualified for the NSSCAS
level.

Shipalanga told this news agency that the Programmes and Quality Assurance (PQA) division of the regional education directorate is developing measures to boost academic performance.

“One of the important tactics that will be implemented is teachers’ conferences. The PQA division will hold these conferences in crucial towns and villages like Khorixas,
Outjo, Kamanjab, Opuwo, Okanguati and Sesfontein,” he stated.

Shipalanga said the primary purpose of the conferences is to involve all teachers,
and discuss issues affecting teaching and learning. 

It will also provide an opportunity for continuous professional development on the effective implementation of National Standards and Performance Indicators
in terms of quality lesson planning, t
eaching, learning and assessment, as well as motivating teachers to boost the intrinsic
and extrinsic motivation of learners.

The first teachers’ conference was held
in Khorixas on Friday at the Eddie Bowe Primary School, with the remainder of the conferences taking place this week.

Shipalanga said some of the factors contributing to poor performance include teachers’ absenteeism, a lack of motivation among learners, a lack of parental
involvement, drug and alcohol abuse among pupils, and a lack of technology integration,
all of which will be addressed at the
conferences.

- Nampa