TUN demands answers from education ministry
No exam rerun possible, ministry says
In a statement, TUN said an agreement between the education ministry and Nantu was "ill-thought out", "unworkable" and a "half- baked strategy".
The Teachers Union of Namibia (TUN) has urged its members countrywide to reject an agreement signed between the education ministry and the Namibia National Teachers Union (Nantu) on Friday last week if it is not amended by Monday.
In a statement, TUN secretary general Mahongora Kavihuha said the agreement is "ill-thought out", "unworkable" and a "half- baked strategy”.
Referring to a meeting between the ministry and Nantu, Kavihuha said: "The purpose of the meeting, it seems, was to discuss the most pertinent mutual issues of concern with regard to the current performance output of secondary education in the country. ln our view, it is rather unfortunate that [...] the national disaster that you mildly refer to as 'performance output', should only be discussed between your ministry and the Nantu executives, notwithstanding [that] you two were its main architects, through discriminatory tendencies and approaches. The calamity that the two of you have so far caused to this country and its education needs much more than your perverse, exclusive and discriminatory discussions.”
Not an option
This follows the results of the Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary and Advanced Subsidiary Level (NSSCO and NSSCAS) in December, which showed a failure rate of just over 80%.
Many political leaders and school principals, including Nantu, have since called for a rerun of the exams in March in order to give students who failed a second chance.
This option is not on the table, according to education ministry executive director Sanet Steenkamp.
"We don’t just operate a system that is not regulated. We have agreements in place with Cambridge and a credible examination system. There is no question of a rerun of examinations, you will derail your whole system. You would spend millions of dollars and to set the papers, and the same teachers that need to spend quality time on learning will be drawn away for 90 days again. So that is not an option," she said.
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In a statement, TUN secretary general Mahongora Kavihuha said the agreement is "ill-thought out", "unworkable" and a "half- baked strategy”.
Referring to a meeting between the ministry and Nantu, Kavihuha said: "The purpose of the meeting, it seems, was to discuss the most pertinent mutual issues of concern with regard to the current performance output of secondary education in the country. ln our view, it is rather unfortunate that [...] the national disaster that you mildly refer to as 'performance output', should only be discussed between your ministry and the Nantu executives, notwithstanding [that] you two were its main architects, through discriminatory tendencies and approaches. The calamity that the two of you have so far caused to this country and its education needs much more than your perverse, exclusive and discriminatory discussions.”
Not an option
This follows the results of the Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary and Advanced Subsidiary Level (NSSCO and NSSCAS) in December, which showed a failure rate of just over 80%.
Many political leaders and school principals, including Nantu, have since called for a rerun of the exams in March in order to give students who failed a second chance.
This option is not on the table, according to education ministry executive director Sanet Steenkamp.
"We don’t just operate a system that is not regulated. We have agreements in place with Cambridge and a credible examination system. There is no question of a rerun of examinations, you will derail your whole system. You would spend millions of dollars and to set the papers, and the same teachers that need to spend quality time on learning will be drawn away for 90 days again. So that is not an option," she said.
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