Aletta Shikololo
Amid a litany of challenges during the past academic year, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and leaked examination papers, the first candidates to sit for the Namibian Senior Secondary Certificate Advanced Subsidiary (NSSCAS) national examination, have performed relatively well.
The results, released yesterday, show the majority of learners obtained grades A to C with the peak at C grade.
Speaking to New Era, the director for examinations, Clementine Tsumis-Garises said for first timers, the learners have done a good job, especially that only 7.7% of learners are ungraded in all subjects.
Education minister Anna Nghipondoka has also heaped praise on this cohort, saying it is the sound picture that any education system expects to see and one which the ministry must not just strive towards, but work very hard to improve over the years.
Speaking at the results announcement held at Namcol in Otjiwarongo, Nghipondoka urged regional and school leaders to go back to the drawing board in terms of the selection of schools to offer AS level.
“It is absolutely crucial to comply with candidate selection requirements. The class of 2021 has set the pace and a high standard. Therefore, we need to re-double our efforts to ensure that the performance continuously improves over the years. All regional results must be analysed, presented within the region, and performance bases /support dialogues must be held,” she said.
Nghipondoka further instructed subject teachers, education officers and principals to identify areas of improvement, prioritise teaching and learning, and provide resources to enhance teaching and learning.
In 2021, 5 007 candidates sat for the AS national examinations in 28 subjects at 102 full-time centres. Of those, 4 592 candidates wrote at 88 public schools and 415 candidates at 14 private schools, respectively.
Of these candidates, 415 (8.3%) obtained grade A, 971 (19.4%) grade B, 1 241 (24.8%) grade C, 1 161 (23.2%) grade D, 831 (16.6%) grade E and 385 (7.7%) ungraded.
According to statistics from the ministry, most learners have performed well in science subjects with a cumulative average of 89.5%, followed by commerce subjects, 87.5% and languages, 86%.
The top 10 performers are Jada Izaks and Chika Libuku from St Paul’s College, who scooped first and second place, Ndateelela Ndjamba (Gabriel Taapopi Secondary School), Melissa Nel (Edugate Academy), Patrick Tenga (Elcin Nkurenkuru), Paavo Nghikevali (Onawa Secondary School), Ando Amunkete (St Paul’s College), Griffith Bezuidenhoudt (Windhoek High School) Tuli-meameno Shatona (Gabriel Taapopi) and Magdel van der Merwe (Windhoek Gymnasium).
The AS level was implemented for the first time in Namibia last year as part of the third basic education change that started in 2012, following resolutions taken at the 2011 education conference, which includes phasing out the Higher International General Certificate of Secondary Education (HIGCSE) in 2010. This means grade 11 is the first exit point from basic education.
The results for the ordinary level are expected to be released sometime this month.
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ashikololo@nep.com.na
Caption: (Exam results)