Reporting Lucifer to the devil

JOHN FREDERICKS WRITES:The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic caused immeasurable economic and social hardship and agony amongst Namibians of all walks of life. The skyrocketing unemployment rate with accompanying lack of income caused great misery to the lives of many Namibians. The uncontrolled hike in basic food prices increased not only hunger, but also a sense of deprivation in the most vulnerable of our society. The uncertainty in the labour market, the demands to pay for accommodation/rent, transport, school fees and many other primary needs forced families and households to take “shortcuts” in trying to make families survive from the one day to the next. Covid-19 brought about a very fragile state, which unfortunately are viciously exploited by some unscrupulous individuals/groups in our society, our institutions and our government. These are individuals/groups which are a law unto themselves. Many of these individuals/groups are also protected by associations, under the veil of professional autonomy, to commit these heinous acts and crimes. It is common knowledge that there can be no normality in an abnormal society, and as such, Covid-19, in totality created an abnormal society.The increased levels of anxiety, fear, uncertainty brought about by the pandemic would like us to believe that there would be a greater sense of civility, humaneness, compassion and understanding amongst us, but that is not to be because of the human vultures amongst us. A case in point is the supplementary exams conducted by an institution of higher learning during the apex of the Covid-19 pandemic. The students had to prepare themselves for exams under very trying and challenging conditions, with many adult students whom either had lost their full-time jobs, or where spouses or bread winners became unemployed. Others had to deal with the prolonged forced absence from school for school- going children and those children were left without any supervision. Some had to endure humiliating pay cuts, whilst familial demands increased, because of our values to assist our families or friends in need. The mentioned challenges are only the ice-tip of the challenges faced by adult and full-time employed students. The psychological pressure in preparing for exams under such abnormal conditions are inexplicable, soul drenching and exhaustive, yet the unwavering commitment to set an example to others, (especially to peers and one’s children), and the desire to improves one own quality of life and that of others, makes the agony, misery and lonely battle worthwhile, until you meet the blood sucking vultures. I am one of the students who wrote my exams under extreme duress, anxiety and fragile state of mind, and my lecturer rewarded me with a 48.5% fail mark. The pass mark is 50%. I must repeat the module, repeat the term and pay the fees, for a lousy 1.5% mark for which the lecturer either cannot find on my answer script or in his heart to release others and myself from our agony and misery in this troubled and challenging time. I am not promoting that standards be lowered, but at least for borderline cases to be considered. To add insult to injury, the final marks were moderated and verified by a board, and so, it is a futile exercise to report or appeal to the board or to report the lecturer to the board for his insensitivity, inconsiderateness and lack of understanding the values of Ubuntu.“Another one bites the dust”NB. I am currently reading for my articles for the “Justice Training Certificate (JTC)" and the Law Society of Namibia (LSN) is not known for taking kindly to constructive critism.

Reporting Lucifer to the devil

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Republikein 2025-05-01

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Reporting Lucifer to the devil

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Republikein 2025-05-01

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