Only 18% of Oshana grade 12 learners qualify for varsity

TUNOHOLE MUNGOBAOSHAKATIWith a decrease of 5.2%, the Oshana Region has only managed to produce 504 qualifying learners out of 2 812 registered for grade 12 examinations in 2020.The director of education in the Oshana Region, Hileni Amukana, says Covid-19 was the biggest contributor to the decrease in the pass rate. “In our region, our learners suffered a lot. They were either in quarantine or isolation and teaching hardly took place. However, these findings of lower pass rate are not only in Oshana Region, but across the entire country. The education system was forced to adapt and accommodate every learner,” says Amukana.The statistics also include 297 learners who fell pregnant in 2020. Amukana says the number is concerning and blames learners being sent home during the lockdown.“Lack of parental support is another contributing factor. When learners are sent home to go and isolate and keep themselves busy with their studies, their parents would send them to go work in the fields. These social problems are very prevalent in our region.”For the grade 11 2020 results, this was the first examination for the entire country as the first exit point of secondary education to qualify for newly introduced Namibian Senior Secondary Certificate Advanced Subsidiary (NSSCAS).Currently, only seven schools in the Oshana Region provide the NSSCAS level out of 147 schools.Gabriel Taapopi Senior Secondary at Ongwediva managed to have 77.10% pass rate for grade 11 and is number one in the region, followed by Mauritz Devenish Private School with a 66.67% pass rate and Liberty Heritage Private School at Ongwediva with a 75% pass rate.Kapolo Combined School at Ompundja had a 0% pass rate. Interventions “We are definitely working on targeting schools like Kapolo and providing them with additional support. Currently, my team and I are working on assessments of issues in these different schools and aim to strengthen our school visits.“Teachers need to understand that in order for learners to perform well in grade 11 and qualify for NSSCAS, work should be put in very early starting in grade 10,” she says.The statistics mention different challenges facing the region such as a high Covid-19 infection rate in boarding schools, lack of ICT equipment to facilitate learning during the lockdown, a high teacher-to-learner ratio and insufficient hostel accommodation for senior secondary learners.

Only 18% of Oshana grade 12 learners qualify for varsity

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-09-18

Please login to leave a comment

Only 18% of Oshana grade 12 learners qualify for varsity

Comments

Namibian Sun 2025-09-18

Please login to leave a comment

Login