Nudo slams education failures

The National Unity Democratic Organisation (Nudo) yesterday slammed government's education efforts by accusing the education ministry and senior government officials of falsely claiming progress despite an ailing education system and low pass rates. Nudo's Joseph Kauandenge in a statement said that Namibians are being taken “for a ride” by government in its failed attempts to ensure education results and access improves and said the education system is in a “severe coma”.He said the December examination pass rates did not reflect progress but instead showed “overwhelming proof that ours is an ailing education system that needs to be properly diagnosed.”In December, Namibian Sun reported there has been no significant improvement in the pass rate of Grade 10 full-time candidates over several years, with more than 18 000 candidates who failed to qualify for Grade 11 in 2018.Only 22 462 or 55.3% of the 40 599 Grade 10 full-time candidates qualified for admission to Grade 11 next year, the ministry announced in December. The performance of the full-time candidates dropped slightly in 2017 in all grades compared to the Class of 2016. The overall performance of the candidates dropped by 0.7% in average over the A to G grades when compared to last year and the percentage of ungraded candidates slightly increased from 2.45% in 2016 to 3.1% this year.Nudo said the recent Grade 10 and Grade 12 results are a “clear testimony that our education system is at best, a system that dumps our brightest stars on the streets while a select few eventually are able to study further.”The party stated that education is based on luck and not on equality to ensure that equal education is provided to all.Kauandenge yesterday also lashed out at rumours that free education will be scrapped, stating that education is a “sacred” right and it would be a “travesty of justice should government renegade (sic) on its promises to provide free education.”He said it is time government addresses the unease amongst parents around the issue. The education ministry however confirmed repeatedly in 2017 that free primary and secondary education is here to stay, but have urged parents and communities to chip in to ensure that the education needs of their children are met in times of severe budgetary constraints. Nudo further stated that quality education should not suffer because of a lack of money.“There are other areas and parastatals that continue to be a burden to the state, where millions are wasted, thus government should start their cost cutting measures there.”The NSSC Grade 12 Ordinary Level results will be released on Thursday.JANA-MARI SMITH

Nudo slams education failures

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-03

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Nudo slams education failures

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-03

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