By Frederick Philander WINDHOEK From a total of more than 27 000 full-time and part-time candidates for the IGCSE examinations last year, 3 393 successful students will qualify for admission at tertiary institutions in Namibia and/or South Africa. This was on Friday announced by the Ministry of Education’s Directorate of National Examinations and Assessment. “Last year’s examination entry consisted of 14 319 full-time and 13 350 part-time candidates country wide, primarily registered with the Namibia College of Open Learning. Compared to the previous year’s results, the 2006 IGCSE results of both full and part-time candidates improved resulting in an improvement also in the results of the national entry,” a statement, signed by the acting Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Education, Alfred Ilukena, from the directorate on Friday read. According to the statement, a larger percentage of graded subject entries has increased resulting in a decrease in un-graded subjects, considered to be a milestone achievement. “The increase in the number of graded subject entries in the lower to average grades has been maintained for the fifth consecutive year. This gradual increase has in 2006 resulted in the best performance in the grade range B to G and is the highest percentage of grade entries obtained so far. If compared to the 2005 results, the performance in the higher grades A to A has also improved, the release said. The directorate further warned that IGCSE candidates are still under-performing at most grades. “This under-performance is caused by an under-performance by both full-time and part-time candidates. As for the overall results the trend of improvement of the full-time results were significant for the average to lower grades, but less so for the higher grades,” the directorate claims. The directorate also announced that the IGCSE and HIGCSE examinations that have been written in Namibia for the past 12 years will this year be replaced by the Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate (NSSC) in all government and private schools. “The new NSSC qualification will enjoy the same recognition and acceptance as was the case with the HIGCSE and IGCSE qualifications,” it said. Chemistry as a subject is still only being offered in Namibian private schools despite the national goal to produce more scientists. St Paul’s College once again walked away with the laurels in ranking order for the best IGCSE results in the country, followed by St Boniface College and Gobabis Gymnasium respectively in second and third place. The best male and female overall performers in the IGCSE examinations were Mekelaye Nelumbu and Kwesi Tembo of St Paul’s College. “The ministry of Education wants to congratulate the candidates, teachers and parents for the results of last year,” said Alfred Ilukena in conclusion.