The Namibia Senior
Secondary Examination (2019) results were released on 10 January 2020.
Congratulation to those schools that worked so hard, we cherish your
achievement. While on vacation, I got
hold of a widely circulated newspaper and I looked at Onamutai Senior Secondary
School results; a local school of course. The results were bad in nature and appearance,
probably only one or two students had gathered enough points for entry to institutions
of higher learning.
A village’s reputation is normally associated to the events
or practices that happen within the locality. Here are some interesting questions
that we may ask ourselves as people who by nature owe loyalty and allegiance
to the mighty village of Onamutai.
- Should we accept and give in to failure?
- What kind of history are we making?
- How do we explain this?
- What should be our intervention for the situation to change?
I am pleased and
concerned to share my opinions without prejudice.
In governance, there is
what refers to as School Governing Body (SGB), some denotes it as School Board or
School Trustees. The SGB should plan, strategize and gather resources necessary
for teaching purpose. The SGB should comprise of skilled and experienced
individuals who may execute their mandate with due diligence, skill and care; and
make collective decisions for the betterment of the institution (School).
The main objective of
SGB should be mainly to govern a school in a proper manner in attainment of
better performance and ethical behavior within the school environment so that its
stakeholder such as parents, donors and learners can trust the school.
The SGB should be is a
statutory body of
parents, educators, non-teaching staff and learners (either from Grade 8 or
higher with acceptable conduct) who mostly serve on pro bono and seek to work
together to promote the well-being and effectiveness of the school community, thereby
enhancing learning and teaching of which good performance is key.
A school / institution
with no ethical culture (acceptable manner or behavior within school premises),
effective control of its learners and personnel, will for sure perform poor and
will always remain less preferred. The main reason why some schools are more preferred
is due to their good performance and reputation.
Poor performance from
an institution of this magnitude, I for one have to question the effectiveness of
the SGB should there be one, And if there is no SGB in place, the results
attained are indeed the planned results. Remember having SGB in place is not
sufficient but an effective SGB is paramount. It is high time for a school to
revisit its leadership styles and most probably try to do a benchmark with
other sister schools with good performance. Trust me; the situation can change
for better as long as we plan and strategize for better.
Proper Planning Prevent Poor Performance (Socrates)
By:
Onesmus K Joseph - ACIS/BAP/CFIP/PPL
MPHIL Candidate - KNUST (Kumasi; Ghana)
Governance Practitioner
josephonesmus@yahoo.com
