Minister of Education, Arts and Culture Anna Nghipondoka has said underperformance and lack of participation by boys in education has become an issue of national concern.
Nghipondoka made the remarks in a speech read on her behalf at the opening of a two-day conference on Namibian boys’ underachievement and lack of participation in education hosted by the University of Namibia (UNAM) here on Monday.
The conference is aimed at discussing the findings of a four-year-long research project on the topic by the university.
‘The Namibian nation in general and Namibian educational stakeholders, in particular, are actively exploring ways to support boys’ education,’ said Nghipondoka.
She said Educational Management Information System (EMIS) data has consistently shown that at secondary school level, on average, more boys than girls display low survival rates, low promotion rates from grade to grade, as well as high failure and high dropout rates.
‘What we also know is that in Namibia there now exists gender disparity in academic achievement between boys and girls,’ she said.
On his part, UNAM’s Vice Chancellor Kenneth Matengu in a speech also read on his behalf said the research is based on samples from learners and teachers which showed that boys performed worse than girls.
Matengu said boys distract themselves from school work, withdraw from learning activities and engage in self-destructive behaviour.
‘These boys tell themselves that they can do better without education. We should see boys at traffic lights, shebeens, streets and shopping malls not as men but instead as human beings crying for social and educational help. The boy child needs help to succeed, and society should rather than see them in the streets as potential criminals, reach out, talk and work with them in order to develop a better society,’ he said.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
