GROOTFONTEIN –Otjozondjupa regional councillor, Johan Spangenberg, says learners who failed grades 10 and 12 should not despair, because they are not stupid.
“God does not create stupid people, we have to tell learners there is no such thing as a stupid person. I always tell myself if you can do it then so can I, if you can get a degree then so can I,” he motivated Grade 10 and 12 drop-outs. According to Spangenberg two different people can never be compared as they mature at different times. “We have to take these young people and talk to them, really talk to them and tell them ‘listen you are not the first one and you will certainly not be the last one to fail, millions will still fail after you.’ The rest of world will not wait for you it goes on with or without you even if you lose a parent today you cannot ask the world to stop, the world will just carry on,” he said.
One of the solutions he outlined was that teachers from various schools who offer the same subjects should start holding information-sharing summits, which according to him could improve examination results. Some schools perform better than others and that is why teachers meeting and sharing ideas would ensure everyone is on the same level, he said. “It does not help me as a teacher, parent or councillor if only five learners pass, while the majority fail. In order for the country or town to go up the majority if not all my learners need to perform well. If only five pass, that same five will leave the town leaving the recently ignored majority behind. This is why we need to get all, if not most of them, to qualify for university or colleges,” said the regional councillor. Spangenberg appealed to the unsuccessful learners, their respective schools, as well as their parents and teachers to clearly demonstrate their commitment towards educating the nation and addressing what he termed ‘the crisis of failure’ in the country and finding a lasting solution by putting the supreme interests of the country above individual interests. “We need to tell our children drugs, alcohol and substance abuse is not the solution, the solution is hard work” he said, adding, “with hard work anything is possible.”
“Although some parents are rich and can afford to pamper their children, unfortunately 80 percent of our children come from poor or average homes and will have to work in order to get the results they need,” said the councillor. Even the results from private schools are poor, he said, adding that no one factor can be singled out as the sole cause of the failures in the Otjozondjupa Region.
“Failing can be the result of a lot of many factors, such as children not studying hard enough or not paying attention; teachers who are not up to standard or not doing their work or parents expecting schools to do everything. Charity begins at home,” he said. According to Spangenberg white people are not as well off as they appear at face value.
“Most of the white people cannot afford a high standard of living anymore. If you look around you will see them roaming the streets like everyone else, they too are without jobs. At face value they might appear well off, but many are struggling to keep their heads above water. I personally think it is just the parents providing the money, because poverty is now a global epidemic,” he further said.
By John Travolter Matali