Covid-19 disrupts young lives

ELIZABETH JOSEPHThe Covid-19 pandemic caused by the new coronavirus has led to the temporary closure of schools and all other educational facilities in Namibia. According to Rudolf Matengu, Augustineum Secondary School principal in Windhoek, the school will use the first term’s continuous assessment (CASS) marks to show parents how their children are performing so far. Matengu added that the school’s learners had been receiving extra lessons on Saturdays before the school closure, which means most of the term’s work is done. “As soon as the school reopens for the second term, we will continue with classes on Saturdays but we will roll it out to grades such as grade eight,” he said.He added that the normal study sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays would then be used by teachers and learners to tackle academics. “The learners who will be writing external examinations at the end of the year are not that much affected as this acts as a revision year and most of their syllabus was completed last year,” he explained. Pascaline Dausas, Paresis Secondary School principal at Otjiwarongo, said the school has instituted extra classes for learners in grades nine, 11 and 12.“Learners in grade eight have little work to do so they can catch up in the next grade. We will be evaluating learners during the first week of the second term on their academic performance,” she said. In terms of learner accommodation, Dausas said the learners do not need to reapply for a spot in the school’s hostel. She added that the workload for both learners and teachers will be a challenge, and urged them to do their best. She further said the school would start the second term with a clean slate and school events will not be carried over. Where primary schools are concerned, George Kandetu, principal of M.H Greeff Primary School, says their school will write examinations during the third week after reopening.“We don’t want the learners to be affected too much, so during the third week we will be having examinations. High schools have also received a directive from the ministry of education to consider the second-term results when considering for the 2021 grade eight intake,” he said. Schools are scheduled to reopen for the second term on 14 April.

Covid-19 disrupts young lives

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-16

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Covid-19 disrupts young lives

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-16

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