Ferdinand N Kamati
Education is a systematic process that seeks to produce well-balanced individuals with the requisite knowledge, skills, values, aptitudes and attitudes to become functional and productive citizens for national development.
the ministry of education was motivated to improve the educational system by introducing curriculum reforms and making projections based on the country’s educational needs. It is worth noting that senior secondary education is an important tool for poverty alleviation since it serves as the terminal point for tertiary education, which is crucial for national development.
Following this unique importance of secondary education, parents, educational practitioners, government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are interested in the end products at the secondary phase; thus, they consistently resource schools to archive maximum academic performance of learners. Education at the secondary level is supposed to be the bedrock and the foundation towards higher knowledge in tertiary institutions.
It is an investment and instrument that can be used to achieve a more rapid economic, social, political, technological, scientific and cultural development in the country. As stipulated by the national curriculum for basic education (2016), secondary education is an instrument for national development that fosters the worth and development of individuals for further education and development, general development of the society and equality of educational opportunities for all Namibian children irrespective of any learning difficulties or marginal disabilities.
The differential scholastic achievement of learners in Namibia has been and still is a source of concern to educators, government and parents worsen by the recent release of NSSCO and NSSCAS examination results for 2022 of which out of 38 019 full-time learners who wrote NSSCO, only 5812 learners qualify for admission at institutions of higher learning and out of the same number only 8 133 learners qualify for NSSCAS respectively. All over the country, there is a consensus about the fallen standards of education in public schools.
Parents and government are in total agreement that the huge investment in education is not yielding the desired dividend. The recently released NSSCO and NSSCAS justified the problematic nature and generalisation of poor performance of learners at the secondary level in different school subjects. This attaches more weight that, the academic performance of learners in Namibia and is of central concern in the educational domain across grades in public schools.
Over 32 years of independence a range of variables have been identified to be related to the poor academic performance of learners including teacher attitudes, indiscipline, deplorable classroom conditions, lack of human and capital resources, unnecessary policies, budget constraints, lack of teaching and learning resources, lack of quality assessment and monitoring, delay in appointment of personnel, overcrowded classroom amongst others. Nevertheless, less seems to be done to tackle these nationwide challenges. More emphasis is placed on accessibility than on quality and equity.
Although, teachers are regarded as the essential catalysts for school improvement, driving forces for learners’ academic development and agents of change, at times their efforts drown in the sea of challenges, which results in a high failure rate. Therefore more interventions are required from all stakeholders to intensify learners’ academic performance at the secondary level and other school phases. It can never be denied that an effective attitude employed by teachers ultimately can make a positive difference in the lives of their learners.
Although the question of poor learners’ performance is primarily placed on teachers, more factors play a role, including inadequate teaching and learning materials, unconducive buildings, teachers’ working conditions and learners’ indiscipline.
Apart from teachers, learners also have a stake in their academic development and performance. It should be noted that whatever efforts teachers exert to enhance learning, the onus lies with the learners.
Hence the saying, “you can lead the horse to the water but you cannot force it to drink”. Learners’ attitudes, absenteeism, indiscipline, and weak academic background in the English language contribute to low academic performance.
To curtail the recurring poor learners’ achievement at the secondary level and other schools’ phases in general, the ministry of education should strive to assuage the following contributing factors to the high failure rate; teacher-learner ratio currently at 1:40 at the secondary level; trimmed and delay payment of education grants; inadequate provision of learners stationaries; automatic transfer of learners; inadequate hostel facilities at secondary schools, delay in appointment of personnel (HoDs, principal and inspectors of education), lack of workshops and training for teachers; unqualified teachers at a senior secondary level due staffing norms; more combined schools catering for pre-primary to grade 11; poor parental involvement, lack of proper monitoring and assessment, dilapidated classrooms, learners taught under trees or in corrugated/make-shift classrooms, inadequate textbooks, lack of teaching and learning resources, lack of furniture [learners’ desk and chairs), indiscipline among learners, amongst others.
The low achievement level at the secondary level (NSSCO and NSSCAS) demands evolutionary ideas to motivate learners to take their learning seriously. The teachers should be equipped to use modern teaching pedagogies including the use of computers in teaching to motivate and sustain learners’ interest in their learning.
The ministry, parents, school administration and society at large should work together to ensure that the teaching and learning environment is conducive to teachers and learners for effective learning to take place. The government should take full responsibility for providing the necessary materials and equipment required by schools, which include well-equipped libraries and laboratories and expand hostel facilities to accommodate all learners doing NSSCO and NSSCAS.
Teachers should be equipped to be more innovative in preparing teaching and learning materials to help them modify their teaching strategies to embrace the benefits of interactive teaching including longer and increase learners’ conceptual understanding.
The curriculum developers and policymakers must always involve the curriculum implementers (teachers) in the process of revising the curriculum and consult teachers before releasing policies, circulars and directives to schools to ensure the views of the implementers and stakeholders are incorporated. It is not time to play blame games or to point fingers due to the poor performance of learners. Let’s go back to the drawing board to save the future generation.
*Ferdinand N Kamati is a PhD scholar, motivational speaker, author and academic researcher. Reach him at ferdinandkamati@yahoo.com