2007-01-10Staff Report 2 "By Kuvee Kangueehi Windhoek The community of Aminuis in the Omaheke Region has set up a task force consisting of five people to look into problems affecting the learners in the area. The team was set up at a meeting on Monday in Onderombapa following yet more disappointing grade 10 results at the end of last year. The Regional Councillor for the Aminuis constituency, Erwin Uanguta, said the meeting was organized by the youth in the area. It was resolved that the team would visit all the schools in the constituency to clearly identify the problems contributing to the poor performance of learners. The task force is expected to meet with learners, teachers, principals and the various school boards to identify problems. Although Uanguta could not provide the figures, he noted that the Grade 10 results were once again disappointing. The councillor said except for the Mokaleng Roman Catholic School, which obtained a more than 60% pass rate, the other schools performed poorly. He noted that Rietquelle Junior Secondary School performed badly compared to the previous year and has a pass rate of less than 50 percent. Uanguta could not pinpoint the problems hampering the students but noted that a lack of commitment from the teachers is definitely an attributing factor. The councillor said he observed that some teachers in the rural areas consider teaching as a part-time job and concentrate mainly on their farming activities. ""I have witnessed occasions where teachers leave their learners unattended and are at their villages looking after their livestock."" He added that in some cases, the teachers would even take some of the learners away from school to assist them with farm work. ""Instead of learners taking part in extramural activities such as sport or debates, they are branding their teachers' livestock."" The councillor said this happens especially when there are auctions where teachers abscond from schools and spend most of their time selling their animals or just attending the event. Uanguta said it is about time that the various school boards in the constituency look into the matter seriously and reprimand the culprits. ""The school board members should have the liberty to ask teachers what they are doing outside the school premises during school hours."" The problem in the Aminius constituency appears not to be isolated as the Director of Education in the Omaheke Region, Theo Kamupingene, in a paper he presented last year said the overall learner performance in grade 10 and Grade 12 has not progressed beyond the 50 percent pass rate. In the paper, Kamupingene said the factors militating against good performance are laziness, visits to clubs and shebeens by learners and the misuse of alcoholic drinks. He said that the location of shebeens, which at times are close to schools, and the indiscriminate selling of liquor to minors, are other factors. ""Indulgence in sexual practices at an early age and problems at home may affect learners' progress in school."" In his paper, the director said in order to improve education in the country, community leaders should investigate issues in each constituency which have detrimental effects on education and nip them in the bud. ""Chiefs should organize meetings in their respective areas and motivate parents to take education seriously."" He added that communities should also ensure that teachers and education administrators are focused on education and parents should attend meetings at schools when invited to do so. He urged parents also to initiate meetings with teachers in order to support and strengthen teacher's efforts. Kamupingene noted that traditional councils and farmers' unions should set up an education development fund for scholarships to support education in whatever way possible." 2007-01-10Staff Report 2
