Dr Abisai Shejavali: Statement on issue of failed Grade 10s
TWO weeks ago, when the Minister of Education, Honourable Nangolo Mbumba, announced on TV that the grade 10 students who failed would be allowed to repeat, I was elated at the news.
In fact, I was about to make a congratulatory statement, because that move had made me to some extent believe that our leaders in government, especially those who grew up and attended schools in rural areas, were beginning to go back to address the situations in which they used to be.
It made me appreciate that perhaps they did have a heart for the young people living in the rural areas, living far away from school and having to walk many kilometers to and from school. But The Namibian newspaper of 13 February 2008, showed that the government had made a 'U-turn' on this decision, meaning that grade 10 failures would no longer be allowed to repeat.
This is a very sad and very painful case and it seems that our leaders have no serious consideration for the youth of our country. The repercussions of not allowing grade 10s to repeat have proven in the past to be detrimental to the development of the nation.
It is a problem that should have been addressed several years ago, because of the negative effects that are directly linked to this issue. Not only are we left with soaring unemployment rates, hundreds of street children, the exponential growth of informal settlements, a suffering youth culture and a stagnating nation, but also with a country that fails to progress and to meet its true potential.
Most grade 10 failures are forced to enroll in Namcol, which has many of its own weaknesses: the centres are often very far from where the students live, the absence of teachers is a regular problem, students are often expected to conduct self-study which is a difficult option at their age, and the courses are very expensive, making it especially difficult for the poor to enroll in these programmes.
It is for these reasons that we do not see many of the students who failed coming to attend the Namcol centres, and we don’t see teachers committed to bringing up an educated nation, especially where the rural and urban poor are concerned.
Essentially, we find that many of these grade 10 students’ lives end up in a cul-de-sac, with no options to move forward and remain hopeful of a bright future. It is clear that the whole national education system has to be fundamentally revised, transformed, and completely resuscitated. Speaking of transformation, it should be understood that quality change needs to be preceded by quality planning.
I was surprised to read, after the announcement was made, that some school principals were hearing about this change for the first time on television – a clear indication that the planning process was either non-existent, or fraught with poor planning, improper resource allocation, and apparent political panic – a bad combination when it comes to planning for the future of our nation.
Making a public announcement that grade 10 failures will be allowed to repeat purely on the basis of a political resolution without considering beforehand whether or not there are sufficient resources to face this challenge, hence reneging thereafter, is to betray the nation, to cause confusion among its people, and to cause a loss of trust in those who have been entrusted with a national responsibility.
This example can be likened to when Government announced that water taps in the far north regions of the country would be opened, without a full understanding of the impact of this on the financial standing and modus operandi of NamWater.
Again, it should be emphasized that quality planning will result in creating quality and lasting solutions to our nation’s problems; and that premature, spontaneous and haphazard announcements should not be made based on political interests, but proper and sound planning should be done in the national interest, with a love for peace, stability, tranquility, nation building, and the wellbeing of the nation being at the heart of such planning.
It is also important to draw the link between the educational situation at hand, and the high and growing rate of HIV and AIDS. We seem to talk plenty about fighting HIV and AIDS, but without the necessary action to back up such words. How? When these young teenagers of 15 to18 find that there is nowhere to go, no employment, and no opportunities to repeat Grade 10, they leave their parents to move to the cities, and often end up living in places such as the informal settlements, shacks, etc, out of the protection of parental/guardian care, and where they may become vulnerable to an immoral life.
They do whatever they can to get money to feed and clothe themselves, resulting in crime, prostitution, etc. We find young boys and girls living together, resulting in teenage pregnancies, and reaffirming a vicious cycle of poverty, and all that comes with it.
I’m talking about things I know, having been serving the people in the informal settlements of Babylon, Okahandja Park, Kilimanjaro, Havana/Kabila, etc, for many years. You can only fight against the HIV and AIDS pandemic from obliterating our nation through education when you let them go back and complete their schooling.
For how long will we neglect our young people and leave them to suffer? We can not let this continue at the expense of Namibia’s future! It is clear that if we do not open the door for them to continue their education, we are letting them go as sheep without a shepherd, and they will end up in the mouths of merciless wolves. I am making an appeal to our Government, especially to the Ministry of Education, to show love for the nation by showing its love for the future generation. Please, run to the aid of our young people.
Encourage and support the young people to work hard until they finish Grade 12. Revamp the education system to ensure that we have an educated nation that will result in a developed nation. Most of those kids are very gifted, but it is often the educational foundation that is weak and insufficient. This is clear from the fact that over 16 000 Grade 10 students have failed.
We have to question the education system itself, if half of the students reaching Grade 10 are failing. Is our nation’s resources being milked of a proper investment in the education of our youth without a proper return on this investment in the form of an educated nation?
How adequate is the teaching system prior to Grade 10, if students can sail through primary school and the first two years of secondary school, only to fail Grade 10 in large numbers? How committed are our teachers, principals, school inspectors, directors, and Government as a whole to the future of the learners, and ultimately, the future of the nation? Notwithstanding, the increased number of government school buildings that have been built in the rural areas are highly appreciated and commendable; however, it is evident that the teaching that takes place within those walls has a long way to go to meet the expectations of our nation.
The whole education system needs to be addressed with great purpose and urgency; an organised framework needs to be created for the Grade 10 failures to be allowed to repeat. Immediate and urgent measures need to be launched to change the quality of education from its current poor state to a superior one, from Grade 1 right through to Grade 12.
The administration of education should be fixed and rebuilt in a meaningful and useful way. We should remember: "Education is the key to development." Thus, without a complete reconstruction of the education system, there will be no development and Vision 2030 will only remain a pipe dream.
In fact, I was about to make a congratulatory statement, because that move had made me to some extent believe that our leaders in government, especially those who grew up and attended schools in rural areas, were beginning to go back to address the situations in which they used to be.
It made me appreciate that perhaps they did have a heart for the young people living in the rural areas, living far away from school and having to walk many kilometers to and from school. But The Namibian newspaper of 13 February 2008, showed that the government had made a 'U-turn' on this decision, meaning that grade 10 failures would no longer be allowed to repeat.
This is a very sad and very painful case and it seems that our leaders have no serious consideration for the youth of our country. The repercussions of not allowing grade 10s to repeat have proven in the past to be detrimental to the development of the nation.
It is a problem that should have been addressed several years ago, because of the negative effects that are directly linked to this issue. Not only are we left with soaring unemployment rates, hundreds of street children, the exponential growth of informal settlements, a suffering youth culture and a stagnating nation, but also with a country that fails to progress and to meet its true potential.
Most grade 10 failures are forced to enroll in Namcol, which has many of its own weaknesses: the centres are often very far from where the students live, the absence of teachers is a regular problem, students are often expected to conduct self-study which is a difficult option at their age, and the courses are very expensive, making it especially difficult for the poor to enroll in these programmes.
It is for these reasons that we do not see many of the students who failed coming to attend the Namcol centres, and we don’t see teachers committed to bringing up an educated nation, especially where the rural and urban poor are concerned.
Essentially, we find that many of these grade 10 students’ lives end up in a cul-de-sac, with no options to move forward and remain hopeful of a bright future. It is clear that the whole national education system has to be fundamentally revised, transformed, and completely resuscitated. Speaking of transformation, it should be understood that quality change needs to be preceded by quality planning.
I was surprised to read, after the announcement was made, that some school principals were hearing about this change for the first time on television – a clear indication that the planning process was either non-existent, or fraught with poor planning, improper resource allocation, and apparent political panic – a bad combination when it comes to planning for the future of our nation.
Making a public announcement that grade 10 failures will be allowed to repeat purely on the basis of a political resolution without considering beforehand whether or not there are sufficient resources to face this challenge, hence reneging thereafter, is to betray the nation, to cause confusion among its people, and to cause a loss of trust in those who have been entrusted with a national responsibility.
This example can be likened to when Government announced that water taps in the far north regions of the country would be opened, without a full understanding of the impact of this on the financial standing and modus operandi of NamWater.
Again, it should be emphasized that quality planning will result in creating quality and lasting solutions to our nation’s problems; and that premature, spontaneous and haphazard announcements should not be made based on political interests, but proper and sound planning should be done in the national interest, with a love for peace, stability, tranquility, nation building, and the wellbeing of the nation being at the heart of such planning.
It is also important to draw the link between the educational situation at hand, and the high and growing rate of HIV and AIDS. We seem to talk plenty about fighting HIV and AIDS, but without the necessary action to back up such words. How? When these young teenagers of 15 to18 find that there is nowhere to go, no employment, and no opportunities to repeat Grade 10, they leave their parents to move to the cities, and often end up living in places such as the informal settlements, shacks, etc, out of the protection of parental/guardian care, and where they may become vulnerable to an immoral life.
They do whatever they can to get money to feed and clothe themselves, resulting in crime, prostitution, etc. We find young boys and girls living together, resulting in teenage pregnancies, and reaffirming a vicious cycle of poverty, and all that comes with it.
I’m talking about things I know, having been serving the people in the informal settlements of Babylon, Okahandja Park, Kilimanjaro, Havana/Kabila, etc, for many years. You can only fight against the HIV and AIDS pandemic from obliterating our nation through education when you let them go back and complete their schooling.
For how long will we neglect our young people and leave them to suffer? We can not let this continue at the expense of Namibia’s future! It is clear that if we do not open the door for them to continue their education, we are letting them go as sheep without a shepherd, and they will end up in the mouths of merciless wolves. I am making an appeal to our Government, especially to the Ministry of Education, to show love for the nation by showing its love for the future generation. Please, run to the aid of our young people.
Encourage and support the young people to work hard until they finish Grade 12. Revamp the education system to ensure that we have an educated nation that will result in a developed nation. Most of those kids are very gifted, but it is often the educational foundation that is weak and insufficient. This is clear from the fact that over 16 000 Grade 10 students have failed.
We have to question the education system itself, if half of the students reaching Grade 10 are failing. Is our nation’s resources being milked of a proper investment in the education of our youth without a proper return on this investment in the form of an educated nation?
How adequate is the teaching system prior to Grade 10, if students can sail through primary school and the first two years of secondary school, only to fail Grade 10 in large numbers? How committed are our teachers, principals, school inspectors, directors, and Government as a whole to the future of the learners, and ultimately, the future of the nation? Notwithstanding, the increased number of government school buildings that have been built in the rural areas are highly appreciated and commendable; however, it is evident that the teaching that takes place within those walls has a long way to go to meet the expectations of our nation.
The whole education system needs to be addressed with great purpose and urgency; an organised framework needs to be created for the Grade 10 failures to be allowed to repeat. Immediate and urgent measures need to be launched to change the quality of education from its current poor state to a superior one, from Grade 1 right through to Grade 12.
The administration of education should be fixed and rebuilt in a meaningful and useful way. We should remember: "Education is the key to development." Thus, without a complete reconstruction of the education system, there will be no development and Vision 2030 will only remain a pipe dream.
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