A first for Jacob Marenga

Tunohole Mungoba Born in Angola’s capital city of Luanda, Jelson Quinga is not only an inspiration to Jacob Marenga Secondary School learners, but to pupils all over the region.Quinga ended in eight position in the 2018 National Senior Secondary Certificate (NSSC) ordinary level examinations.Founded by the late Ottilie Abrahams, Jacob Marenga Secondary School is situated in Katutura, WindhoekQuinga, 18, came to Namibia in 2015 because of “Namibia’s reputable education system”. He describes himself as an ambitious and amiable person, who is full of dreams and ready to face the world.After receiving the news two days before the results were released, Quinga thought it was a prank. “I was so overwhelmed. I did not expect it. The first thing I did was call my school and mother to tell them about the good news,” he said.Asked how the news made him feel, he said: “I felt special and keen to go to university. It surprisingly made me humbler and acknowledge the importance of the people who made this great achievement possible.”Quinga’s secret to success was all about prioritising and remaining optimistic. “If you are a learner who always take an hour or two per day to study, then you can use the rest of the time for whatever you desire to do. Believe in yourself and stay optimistic. Being successful is choice we make with our actions,” he tells The Zone. “The roads to success and failure are almost the same, the only difference is that they go in opposite directions.”Quinga has a great love for the human anatomy and physiology, which made him aspire to be a medical doctor. “The human body’s complexity and how every organ system works together in different ways for a single purpose, which is to maintain life, is simply wonderful,” he says. Quinga applied for medicine at University of Namibia (Unam), but his application was unsuccessful. “I have sent an appeal letter to Unam and I am currently waiting for their response. I would like to take this opportunity to once again plead with the health and sciences faculty officer, Florinda Mario, to give me the opportunity to study at her institution,” he says. Jacob Marenga’s prideAccording to Quinga, everyone at school was very proud of him. “I was congratulated by every single teacher. Their faces were full of joy, as this happened immediately after my school principal’s passing. The school thanked me for honouring her memory, as she dedicated her life to education and the school till the very last day of her life,” he says.His class teacher, Sikulisiwe Eizora, says Quinga has always been a disciplined young man. “He is also very hardworking and assisted other learners in class,” he says. Eizora says the school and entire management are proud of him, as learners from Jacob Marenga are “very inspired by his achievement”.“It is also a big achievement for us, as a lot of people look down on our school. He has proven that there is still some good learners as well.” Eizora added that the school also faces a number of challenges, such as lack of discipline, as the most of the learners enrolled at Jacob Marenga are school dropouts. “This has proven to be difficult, as most of them struggle to grasp the content, as they have been out of school for many years,” he added.

A first for Jacob Marenga

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-10

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A first for Jacob Marenga

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-10

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