2008-02-06Staff Report 2 "By Frederick Philander WINDHOEK Several youth organizations and learner representative councils on Monday applauded and praised the Government's decision to allow Grade 10s to repeat as a positive response. A youth meeting was on Monday afternoon held at A. Shipena Secondary School under the auspices of the Namibia National Students' Organization (Nanso). Representatives from five secondary schools in the capital also attended the meeting. ""We positively engaged the Ministry of Education after the Grade 10 results were made known in December last year. We welcome the Government's decision to allow failures to repeat,"" said Nanso's Secretary General Andre Neville Itope at the meeting. According to him the Namibian youth have been faced with a number of concerns regarding the Grade 10 learners in the country. ""Grade 10s have been predominantly negatively affected by the system whereby they did not make it to Grade 11 and have to compete with their elders in the labour market in order to make a living. After failing Grade 10 many young people, especially in rural areas, became victims of moral degeneration and got involved in social evils,"" said Itope. He sees the re-allowance of Grade 10s as a solution to many challenges that the nation faces. ""We expect the entire nation to support the Government's decision to allow the Grade 10s to repeat. Parents are expected to accompany such learners to schools for registration. Furthermore, we encourage schools to follow the Ministry of Education's instructions of a platoon system as an option to those schools with accommodation problems,"" he said. The meeting further resolved that teachers should not discriminate against Grade 10s repeating. ""All learners should be treated equally despite repeating the grade. At the same time repeat learners should not view this allowance as an opportunity to indefinitely repeat Grade 10. We see this as an opportunity for such learners to enhance hard work among learners themselves as well as teaching staff. We would also like to encourage parents to get more involved in their children's education,"" he said. The meeting resolved to give full backing to the implementation of the government's ETSIP in Namibian schools. " 2008-02-06Staff Report 2
