Now that the government has made it official that indeed the national examination was tampered with as some question papers were leaked, to be specific, the grade 12 learners (legacy curriculum), English 2nd language paper 1 (core) and paper 2 (extended), History papers 1 and 2, Agriculture papers 1 and 2, Development studies papers 1, 2 and 3 and Biology papers 1, 2 and 3 were leaked. Also, for Grade 11 Ordinary level (new curriculum), English 2nd language paper 1, Afrikaans 2nd language paper 1, Biology papers 1, 2 and 3, Mathematics paper 1 and 2, Physics papers 1, 2 and 3, Chemistry papers 1, 2 and 3, Entrepreneurship paper 1, Business studies papers 1 and 2, Agriculture paper 1 and surprisingly, Oshikwanyama and Oshindonga papers 1, 2 and 3. I say surprisingly, because who tampers with an esoteric language? Our local languages are our grand heritage and something that we should be proud of. We don’t just learn them as languages but as a way to perpetuate our culture, legacy and traditional value that is passed from generation to generation.
Who has the audacity to tamper with such a sacred subject? Furthermore, I’m glad that the grade 12 (new curriculum) wasn’t tampered with or at least not for now.
Teachers without morals
The suspected perpetrators, should they be found guilty, then they definitely lack morals. As a teacher, from the get go, one thing is conditioned and inculcated in every teacher and that is moral values. Teachers should uphold themselves with value, integrity and responsibility to assist the learners, in cooperation, with the parents and community, to become responsible citizens who will also maintain high moral standards.
Consequently, produce learners to become loyal citizens of the Republic of Namibia. Disappointingly, it seems like some teachers are corrupt and care about money more than the future of this nation.
This is shocking and outrageous. Their mischievous action is an abomination to the education fraternity and a devaluation to the education quality. Also, it’s an insult to fellow teachers who put in so much work to improve the work of the learners.
Learners are highly affected
Unfortunately, learners are affected both psychologically and financially. For them to rewrite would be something that will negatively affect their results. Mentally, the learners are distressed, anxiety prone and they have all the reasons to feel lost.
Despite putting in so much work, they’re likely to do a retest which is not likely to be sweeter as the first.
Also, rewriting the exam will come at a price. Paying for food, transport and other necessities to make sure that they sit for the examination is a hard pill to swallow. This is such an unfair scenario for them.
Parents paying the cost
In the end, parents have to put in much work. Despite working around the clock amid the pandemic to make sure that their children get quality education. Now they will be shocked by the new development as this would require them to do it all over again. Probably it would feel for them like chewing a tasteless bubble gum but there’s nothing they can do about it.
DNEA’s faulty system (Directorate of National Examination and Assessment)
If indeed it’s true, that the materials that were leaked were in soft copy, then there’s a fault in the DNEA system.
The DNEA should be considerate that examination is sacred and of high value and it should be treated in such manner. Leaving room for errors can be a costly price to pay.
Government feeling the pressure
The Namibian government has to work hard to make sure that the quality of education is not affected by this conundrum. Hence, it would be a necessity to host workshops to train teachers on the severity of examination and professional development. Possibly, one might observe, when some teachers are indulging in corruption activity, doesn’t that ring a bell that it’s high time they touch the salary button? In the end, it’s the government that feels the pressure for all these outrageous actions.
Education 2022 calendar in limbo
If the examination has to be rewritten next year, then the Advanced Subsidiary classes will be affected one way or the other. Let alone the entire school calendar. This year showcased that the education year was haphazard, possibly due to the Covid - 19 pandemic and it affected all stakeholders. It seems like next year would be no different.
More planning has to be done to make sure that we dig ourselves from this mess with integrity and excellence.
All in all, the news is shocking and outrageous as the education fraternity was designated to be a workplace for people with value, integrity and respect for themselves and their work. But so far, so bad.