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Tunohole Mungoba The external grade 10 junior secondary examinations, which used to mark the end of the academic road for many learners, will be abolished in 2019 and the last batch of learners will write this year. This forms part of the reforms, aimed at addressing high dropout rates and improving the quality of basic education in Namibia. The architects of the reforms say the goal is not only to keep learners at their desks for longer by diversifying subjects and strengthening student support, but also to improve teacher skills and qualifications - a vital ingredient in improving basic education quality in Namibia. At the end of 2018, grade 9 learners will write the first junior secondary semi-external examinations, following which they will be promoted to the senior secondary phase, starting with grade 10. This will mark the start of a new, extended senior secondary phase of education, taking the form of a two-year Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary Level (NSSCO) course. According to Clemmentine Tsumis, director at the Directorate of National Examinations and Assessment (DNEA), the examinations will be written as semi-externals. “This means that these examination sessions will not be administered like the current JSC national exams. The schools prepare the learners like in any other grade, the only difference is that the question papers will be set at the national level, but marked at the school level. Results will be processed like any other results of exams currently done at school level. “These exams are only for quality assurance and setting standards for the teaching and learning outcomes. The learners are prepared the same way they have been prepared in grade 9 all these years,” said Tsumis. “There is no registration for the learners at national level and also no marking at national level. I advise all parents and other concerned citizens to take note that this is not a national exam for certification, as it was with the grade 10s.”Hertha Pomuti, the director of the National Institute for Educational Development (Nied), told The Zone the reforms aim to keep children in school longer and reduce the dropout numbers. “This will also require extra training for the teachers. We need them to stand with us,” she says. Pomuti explains that the junior secondary semi-external examinations in grade 9 are for quality assurance purposes, allowing learners to repeat if they fail. Extending the final phase of schooling from two to three years has been proven internationally to keep children in school longer and to provide a more thorough, quality education, Pomuti says. “One of the important factors with these changes is that learners will have more time to study for their senior secondary education, because the duration has been extended from two to three years,” Pomuti explains. Once the revised curriculum begins in 2020, grade 11 will be the first exit point from basic education.Pomuti says statistics show that roughly 60 000 children enter the first grade. By grade 5, 54 000 remain in the system and by grade 12, only 30 000 finish their schooling.“So, we have to ask, where are these kids? They are all over the place. Losing them means you lose potential teachers, doctors and those who were supposed to be engineers.”The principal of Ella du Plessis Secondary School, Jakavaza Kavari, told The Zone their school is ready to write the exams. “We have qualified teachers who have started preparing the learners beforehand. They work very hard and we have nothing to fear,” he said.Kavari added that his learners are looking forward to their exams, as they will be completing the first phase out of the two-phase grade. “The learners know very well what is expected from them so it will not be difficult for them to deliver. Although it will not be marked externally, it does not take the seriousness out of these examinations. As the days draw closer, we will start preparing them more,” he added.

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Namibian Sun 2026-08-04

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The countdown has started!

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Namibian Sun 2026-08-04

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