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Students failed by the public education system – Smit

Students failed by the public education system – Smit

The Popular Democratic Movement expressed their dissatisfaction with the results of the 2017 National Senior Secondary Certificate (NSSC) and Junior Secondary Certificate results which were released this week.

Approximately 27 000 former Grade 10 learners and 13 399 former Grade 12 learners did not pass their examinations last year.

In a statement Secretary for Finance for the Party and a Member of Parliament, Nico Smit, said that this means that over 50,000 young Namibians have been failed by the public education system and are likely to face very little prospect of a decent future.

“Now the questions must be asked what plan the government has for the 13,399 former Grade 12 learners who have not gained access to tertiary institutions and in the absence of any intervention will be left destitute on the streets of Namibia,” he said.

He further questioned what plan the government has developed to accommodate learners who must repeat Grade 10 in 2018 as the majority of Grade 10 repeaters accommodated at NAMCOL in 2017 failed their exams and must repeat the year again.

“It is our expectation that no such plans have been developed as all eyes and minds would have been focused on the 2017 Swapo Congress and the political survival of those in leadership,” he said.

Smit further criticised the Ministry of Education for not reaching it low target of 45% admission to tertiary education, which he said bears testimony to the fact that the political appointed leadership at the helm of the Education Ministry is hopelessly out of its depth.


 

About The Author

Mandisa Rasmeni

Mandisa Rasmeni has worked as reporter at the Economist for the past five years, first on the entertainment beat but now focussing more on community, social and health reporting. She is a born writer and she believes education is the greatest equalizer. She received her degree in Journalism at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) in June 2021. . She is the epitome of perseverance, having started as the newspaper's receptionist in 2013.