Rewarding the cream of the crop

Justicia Shipena The best-performing schools and pupils in the 2019 National Senior Secondary Certificate (NSSC) ordinary and higher levels were given prizes by the ministry of education, arts and culture and various stakeholders on Friday.The 2019 Education Excellence Awards Ceremony saw schools and pupils from all 14 regions of the country recognised for their work.According to the education executive director Sanet Steenkamp, who hosted the awards ceremony, the ministry wanted to demonstrate its commitment to creating an environment where excellence is valued by all.“The work of the regions and schools is of paramount importance because it is not about the work of an individual, but the work of a collective team. These awards, therefore, celebrate excellence in teamwork in a whole school and region while at the same time singling out those learners who stood the test of time,” she said.Steenkamp added that achievement at school level cannot truly come to flourish if it does not have the support of stakeholders, parents and teachers. "I would like to take a moment to thank all our regional directors, teachers and principals who worked tirelessly to ensure that our journey to academic excellence is achieved," she said. She further said the celebration of regional performance is one of the most important yardsticks to measure the progress made by the government in improving access to quality basic education for all children. Steenkamp said every child has the potential to excel and every child will not be academically inclined, so awards at regional level should also include other merits. "We have to know that in our schools there are brilliant musicians, painters, visual artists, actors and others who are waiting for us to discover their talents and invest in them." She added that learners should embrace the feeling of disappointment and rework it with renewed confidence. She also pushed the agenda of independent discipline. The public relations manager of one of the sponsors, Standard Bank Namibia, Isack Hamata, said without a strong education foundation it would be a futile exercise to think of moving the country forward in any manner or form.“For a very good reason, these awards are called the academic excellence awards and they target the top performers in all 14 regions in public and private schools. That means we are rewarding the cream of the crop, or crème de la crème of our secondary schools,” he said.

Rewarding the cream of the crop

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-18

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Rewarding the cream of the crop

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Namibian Sun 2025-09-18

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