KATIMA MULILO – The Zambezi regional governor Lawrence Sampofu has implored teachers to work hard in order to turn around the fortunes of learners in the region.
Sampofu was speaking at a regional education awards ceremony recently where he urged teachers to start changing their attitudes and approach to their work if results are to improve.
The region performed poorly in last year’s Grade 12 Ordinary Level examinations. It was ranked last in terms of academic performance.
“Our performance will depend on our attitude to work. We did not perform well in Grade 12 last year. We are the last in the whole country. Are we asking ourselves what went wrong?” questioned Sampofu.
Sampofu further cautioned staff to take their work seriously. “We don’t want to repeat the same mistakes this year. A principal should not be forced by the inspector to work or a teacher by the principal. I want to congratulate those teachers that did well. Some teachers make time for their learners while others don’t,” he noted.
Problem learners should equally be reprimanded while their parents should be notified about their children’s wayward behaviour and indiscipline, he urged. “At Kapani last year we paraded problem learners in the presence of their parents. They were talked to by both the teachers and parents and today this action has borne fruits,” he said.
Kapani Combined School was the overall best performer in the Junior Secondary Certificate (JSC) category.
Sampofu advised against complacency urging all teachers to strive towards achieving the set regional target of 65 percent pass rate.
“Those getting awards should not start idling. You have to work hard. It’s still a long journey. The set target of 65 percent is achievable, that’s why other schools achieved it. It is achievable if we leave aside problem attitudes and become serious with our work,” stressed the regional governor.
The Director of Education in the Zambezi, Austin Samupwa, noted that although the region overall performed poorly in the Grade 12 Ordinary Level examinations, several schools performed exceptionally well by exceeding the set target of 65 percent.
“We have schools that performed quite well even exceeding the minimum target of 65 percent. We are placed sixth on the national log in the Junior Secondary Certificate and number four on higher grade,” said Samupwa.
However, Samupwa stated the region will be hard at work to try and improve its results.
“We are not celebrating for being the last in Grade 12 Ordinary Level results. The focus this year will be on school improvements and student learning. My office, in collaboration with school management and school boards, will be monitoring the situation in order to take remedial action where required,” promised Samupwa.
Kapani Combined School was the overall winner in the JSC category and was awarded a floating trophy and N$3 000 from the Zambezi Regional Council.
Linyanti Constituency Councillor Cletius Sipapela, who is also a resident of Kapani, handed N$2 000 to the school as a token of appreciation for its hard work.
Caprivi Secondary School was the overall best performer in the Grade 12 Higher Level category while the Grade 12 Ordinary Level category had no winner this year due to the region’s dismal performance in this category last year.
Teachers and learners who performed well in various subjects were also awarded certificates and trophies.