Second opportunity for those who flunk Grade 10

David Namwandi, deputy Minister of Education, has given hope to Grade 10 learners who did not meet the admission requirements into Grade 11. Namwandi announced at a press briefing held earlier this week, that those who failed Grade  10 and are 17 years of age or younger will be allowed to repeat the grade on a full-time basis.
“There are 2313 learners who fall between the ages of 17 and below, with 0 to 22 points. The ministry commits to create space in the schools where they were before, so that they can repeat [Grade 10],” he said.
A total of 18 376 learners qualified for admission to Grade 11 out of 35 640 learners who wrote the October/November Junior Secondary Certificate examination, while 17 246 learners failed.
Namwandi said that as it has become custom to allow learners who failed Grade 10 to repeat in the formal education sector, the ministry has put mechanisms in place to address the plight of the learners.
Learners who are older than 17 and obtained points between 0 and 13 should explore alternatives in their academic careers with opportunities in the vocational sector, while those who obtained between 14 and 19 points in their six best subjects are advised to enrol with NAMCOL to improve their weakest subjects.
The deputy minister further said that there are 6 065 learners who obtained points very close to the minimum requirement of 23 points in order to qualify for Grade 11.
“These learners historically opt to pursue or repeat one or two subjects in which they performed poorly through NAMCOL. This option is more advisable, because if they repeat Grade 10 as full-time learners at a formal school, they will forfeit the grades previously obtained in the 2011 JSC Examinations and there is no guarantee that subjects previously passed shall not be failed,” he said.