It’s that time of the year again when grades 10 and 12 learners have to write exams that will determine their next academic step.
I am, however, concerned with the inevitable comments and opinions that will follow the release of the results in December this year and January next year.
Every year when the results come out, education stakeholders – including some senior officers – will suggest what schools should not have done and everybody will surely put the blame on the schools and the teachers. My question is: are teachers really the ones in charge of their classrooms, or is it the learners?
In schools, the hierarchy is upside-down. It’s the learners who are in charge. Learners in government schools in Namibia are untouchable. They dictate things at school and have an option of whether to follow the set rules or not. A teacher in a government school’s duty is restricted to teaching and nothing else. The right to correct learners has been taken away from them.
The government must come up with viable solutions to regulate and control unruly learners at government schools. If the status quo continues, we will have a messed-up society.
Johannes Hiholiwe