THE Minister of Education Dr David Namwandi has graced newspaper pages this week on the future of graduates in the country, comments made, understandably so, at a time when our tertiary institutions host their mid-year graduation ceremonies.
Thus it is indeed the time to reflect on the achievements of the tertiary education sector, and to call on the private sector to come on board and assist with mentorship and employment creation for graduates.
Nevertheless, this is also the time for schools, especially secondary schools, to start preparing for the mid-year and mock exams. The process of having good graduates who are ready for the job market should start at secondary school, where learners should be able to zoom in, as it were, on their preferred career choice, and make sure they do well in the subjects required to enter tertiary institutes and study a specific course. This would ensure that the final graduate had a solid foundation on which tertiary education is anchored and is ready to gain practical knowledge in the job market – which would indeed be plentiful should the private sector engage itself fully in mentoring young graduates.
Mid-year results are always a good indication of how prepared a school is to face the final examination. Indeed we found it fit to feature encouraging words to school learners and teachers to reach their performance targets.
Are we really ready again to register a poor performance or poor pass rate for 2014? Is it not time perhaps for everyone to ensure that paraffin oil and lamps are bought, that ‘quiet study time’ has been allocated, that extra tuition classes and help are given to those who need it most, and that discipline is encouraged in learners – so that they concentrate on attaining good results this year?
Early preparations would indeed allow learners to have good grades and not poor resutls as happened last year. In case we have forgotten, let us look at last year’s pass rates again: Only a mere 7 500 qualified for tertiary education out of the 19 501 candidates who sat for full-time 2013 examinations. In total, of the 42 861 full-time and part-time learners who completed their secondary schooling in 2013, only 10 800 learners qualified for university. Understandably part-time candidates build up subject credits over a number of years and normally meet the university admission requirements only after a number of examinations.
However there are still a number of learners spending too much time in one grade, Grade 12, before they are ready for tertiary education. We are not to have a repetition of such performance when the final examination results for 2014 are released early next year! Indeed, what future are the young people supposed to make for themselves, and at what age and cost to the economy that is deprived of young people not ready for tertiary education or training because they are yet to grasp the basic principles of secondary education?
This year – the 2014/15 financial year – education received the largest chunk, N$13.1 billion, nearly 30 percent of the entire budget. The amount ballooned to N$42.10 billion for the three-year financial period ending 2016/17. The money is to “fund the development and upgrading of education facilities, provision of teacher accommodation, [procure] learning materials, recruit qualified teachers, and support institutions of higher learning including vocational training, as well as providing financial assistance to students.” Let us make sure these monies are used for the good purpose intended.