Student union raises concern over learners excluded after AS level results - nbc

The Student Union of Namibia has expressed concern about the fate of the 64% of learners who failed to qualify for AS Level, following a national pass rate of 36%.

During a media briefing held in Windhoek, the union said there is a need to revise the current education curriculum to prevent further exclusion of young people from the formal education pipeline.

SUN Board Chairperson, Benhard Kavau, described the outcomes of the 2025 Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary (NSSCO) Level and Advanced Subsidiary (NSSCAS) results as evidence of systemic collapse, administrative negligence and policy failure within the education sector.

"64% of Namibian youth – we are calling them youth because they will no longer be in school because of the formal education pipeline. This is not an accident of fate; it is the predictable consequence of years of policy incoherence, under-resourced schools and a government that measures success in slogans rather than substance."

The union also expressed concern over the exclusion of Grade 11 students from the government's subsidised degree funding through the Namibia Students' Financial Assistance Fund.

"The rejection of NSSCO certificate holders for state funding is irrational, disproportionate, procedurally unfair and legally indefensible. This decision amounts to constructive exclusion and constitutes a direct violation of Article 20 of the Namibian constitution, which guarantees the right to education."

Intelligent Katire, the legal secretary of SUN, added that "Education is not a favour but a right, and the government is busy trying to convert it into a privilege, and such intentions will be resisted by law and by demonstrations by the union. This is not what the youth voted for; the Namibian youth voted for inclusion and voted for justice and equality."

The union has therefore called on the Ministry of Education to look into these issues and threatened to mobilise a demonstration next week if they are not addressed.

"Failure to do so as a responsible union, we will mobilise a peaceful demonstration next week. This demonstration will be in line with the Namibian constitution; it will be peaceful because we need to destroy this bureaucratic structure, and failure to do that will institute legal proceedings before a competent court."

On Wednesday, the Namibian National Students Organisation also threatened to protest unless the government included Grade 11 pupils in its subsidised tertiary education programme.

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