Prof Jairos Kangira
Last week, the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture released grade 11 and grade 12 results of examinations that were written in 2020. The release of any kind of results is a moment to celebrate or commiserate, and a time to reflect and plan the next step forward diligently.
It was the first time that the ministry released Grade 11 results, marking the first exist level in the Namibia’s basic education system under the new curriculum that was adopted a few years ago, following the recommendations of the national conference on education held in 2011 under the theme ‘Collective Delivery on the Education Promise: Improving the Education System for Quality Learning Outcomes and Quality of Life’.
It was also the first time that the ministry released grade 12 results together with grade 11 results. While it is plausible that the ministry has launched the Advanced Subsidiary Level (NSSC-AS) for Grade 11 learners who qualify, it seems the schools that will offer this level are not enough for those who wish to follow this route. The shortage of schools offering AS Level is understandable since not all schools meet the requirements for offering this level of education. A lot of preparation is needed and no experiments should be allowed to take place with the education of learners.
This will see many Grade 11 learners qualifying for AS level enrol with vocational training centres and private institutions offering a variety of practical courses. Also, grade 12 holders who fail to qualify for university education will naturally seek enrolment with technical vocational training centres and private institutions. It means that he two disparate groups of students are most likely to meet and learn together at technical vocational training centres and other institutions that will accept them. This has sparked some controversy among academics and the general public as it does not, according to them, makes sense to enrol grade 11 and grade 12 in the same programme.
This debate has been fuelled by information that some higher education institutions will not accept grade 11 certificate holders regardless of their passes. The major argument advanced by institutions that regard grade 11 as unacceptable is that it is pegged at NQF Level 3, while the entry requirement for diploma and degree programmes is Level 4, the level of Advanced Subsidiary. Some academics have suggested that universities and other higher education institutions must seriously consider bridging courses to elevate grade 11 learners to the NQA Level 4 entry requirement of degree and diploma programmes. It is argued that the bridging courses will enable grade 11 holders to articulate to degree and diploma programmes. In addition, it is possible to enrol grade 11 learners in certificate qualifications requiring with Level 3 as the entry requirement. In the absence of polytechnics, some scholars have argued that the national and private higher education institutions need to be more creative to absorb qualifying grade 11 holders in their systems in one way or the other. The above arguments hold for only those learners who have passed grade 11. Outright failures and those on the fringes must write grade 11 examinations again at the end of the year through the assistance of NAMCOL and other colleges and centres.
Although enrolling grade 11 and grade 12 learners may be viewed by some people as awkward and unimaginable, it is possible, as I see it, as long as the learners have good grades. I support my considered view by drawing from the experiences Zimbabwe went through in harmornising grade 11 and Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level qualifications from 1980 after attaining its of independence. Two different secondary school systems existed mainly for black learners before independence. There were F1 secondary schools which followed the prestigious British Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level (Form 1 to Form 4), and F2 secondary schools (Grade 8 to Grade 11) offering a local syllabus and examinations. After inheriting this polarized education system that segregated citizens, Zimbabwe successfully phased out the Grade 11 and chose the Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level system for all learners to follow in the country. My first teaching assignment after graduating as a trained teacher was to transform a school I was posted to from an F2 school into a Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level school. This task had its own challenges, but in the end, we managed to successfully introduce the new Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level syllabuses from Form 1 to Form 4.
In order to cater for grade 11 holders, the Zimbabwean government decreed that the minimum entry requirement to selected programmes at tertiary institutions was grade 11. For instance, grade 11 and Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level certificate holders were allowed to enrol for certificates and diplomas in education, which they successfully complemented. After gaining teaching experience, some proceeded to university and graduated with Bachelor of Education degrees in their specialisations. The Zimbabwe Integrated Teacher Education Course (ZINTEC) accepted both grade 11 and Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level holders. ZINTEC and conventional teacher training colleges churned out trained primary and secondary teachers who had enrolled for teacher training using different qualifications. The result was a resounding success that placed Zimbabwe as one of the countries with a very high literacy rate in Africa. Grade 11 and Cambridge GCE Ordinary Level holders were not enrolled only in the teaching profession, but also in other sectors of the civil service, agriculture, and commerce and industry.
The advent of the Zimbabwe Open University was also instrumental in the incorporation of grade 11 and GCE Ordinary Level holders who enrolled for similar degree programmes and completed them successfully. As I write, some of these graduates are professors teaching in universities in the country and elsewhere in the diaspora.
My point in drawing the Zimbabwean parallel is to show that students with dissimilar qualifications followed the same programmes and acquired the same competences in the end.
As we attempt to solve the Grade 11 conundrum here, it is important for stakeholders to be sensitive to the needs of the learners who are not proceeding to AS Level. It is also crucial to come up with practical solutions that will be acceptable to all stakeholders. As I see it, a modified model of the Zimbabwean example looks feasible. There are professional courses that both grade 11 and grade 12 holders can study together in higher education institutions with great success. We need to change our mindsets in order to ameliorate the situation at hand that was created by the introduction of the new curriculum.
- kjairos@gmail.com