Namcol jumps in
In an effort to address the overwhelming number of learners who did not qualify for AS level, the ministry of education, arts and culture is reaching into its coffers.
Ministry rushes to rescue drowning AS level
“To accept these results as they have been presented and subsequently interpreted is to concede to a crisis: The streets are the fate of thousands of these learners in Namibia,” the Namibia National Students’ Organisation (NANSO) writes in an open letter to the ministers of basic and higher education after the release of disappointing Advanced Subsidiary (AS) level results last month.
In response to public outcry, the ministry of education, arts and culture has encouraged Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary level (NSSCO) graduates who did not qualify for AS level to improve their results by easing the process.
In a recent statement, the ministry announced that NSSCO candidates who are 21 years or younger by 31 December 2022 will be allowed to improve their results on part-time basis should they wish to do so.
Noting the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the ministry pledged to pay N$90 of the total N$110 Namibia College of Open Learning (Namcol) registration fee, the full cost of examination registration and half of the cost of tuition.
This will mean that the ministry of education will bear 66.5% of the cost. In line with the latest undertaking by the ministry, Namcol has extended its registration period from 14 March to 24 March.
The grace period will not apply to graduates who completed the NSSCO/H Legacy curriculum, but the ministry encouraged learners who wish to improve their results or enroll for AS level learning to pursue this at Namcol or another private tuition centre at their own cost.
Edda Bohn, the deputy executive director for the ministry of education, warned high schools not inhibit AS level learners.
“We have found that schools push learners in a direction. Learners have to be allowed to do all four subjects if they wish to. We cannot allow that any learner is disadvantaged. If the timetable will not allow; the timetable must simply be adjusted,” she said.
Bohn noted that learners who are inhibited in their wish to pursue AS level are regarded a failure to the system.
“If ever there are learners who are deprived of subjects, something has gone wrong,” she said.
In response to public outcry, the ministry of education, arts and culture has encouraged Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary level (NSSCO) graduates who did not qualify for AS level to improve their results by easing the process.
In a recent statement, the ministry announced that NSSCO candidates who are 21 years or younger by 31 December 2022 will be allowed to improve their results on part-time basis should they wish to do so.
Noting the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the ministry pledged to pay N$90 of the total N$110 Namibia College of Open Learning (Namcol) registration fee, the full cost of examination registration and half of the cost of tuition.
This will mean that the ministry of education will bear 66.5% of the cost. In line with the latest undertaking by the ministry, Namcol has extended its registration period from 14 March to 24 March.
The grace period will not apply to graduates who completed the NSSCO/H Legacy curriculum, but the ministry encouraged learners who wish to improve their results or enroll for AS level learning to pursue this at Namcol or another private tuition centre at their own cost.
Edda Bohn, the deputy executive director for the ministry of education, warned high schools not inhibit AS level learners.
“We have found that schools push learners in a direction. Learners have to be allowed to do all four subjects if they wish to. We cannot allow that any learner is disadvantaged. If the timetable will not allow; the timetable must simply be adjusted,” she said.
Bohn noted that learners who are inhibited in their wish to pursue AS level are regarded a failure to the system.
“If ever there are learners who are deprived of subjects, something has gone wrong,” she said.
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