Celebrating unsung heroes at the teacher awards

The Teachers Academic Achievement Awards was held at Windhoek High School (WHS) last Wednesday. Teachers from almost 40 schools gathered to receive their rewards. “This award ceremony is a platform where we recognise the hard work and dedication of teachers,” Shaakuleni John Moonde, chairperson of the Khomas Regional Council, said.



Grade average awards

Criteria for the awards included the grade average for each subject. Any teacher whose learners achieved a grade average between 60% and 80% in both Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary (NSSCO) and Advanced Subsidiary (NSSCAS) levels received a certificate. The subjects were divided into commerce, language, mathematics and science, humanities, and pre-vocational categories. Each category awarded multiple teachers.

Achieving a grade average between 80% and 88% granted teachers a certificate and a N$1 000 prize. A prize of N$1 500 and a certificate was given for averages between 88% and 94%. The last category before the special awards was for a grade average of 94% to 100% where teachers received a certificate, N$2 000 and a glass shield as a prize. Ten classes managed to achieve a 100% grade average. Nearly 200 awards were handed out at the ceremony.



Special awards

The first special award went to the best NSSCO and NSSCAS accounting teacher, which was awarded to Sakaria Namwiha and Sarafina Heita from Delta Secondary School and Hochland High School respectively. Both achieved a grade average of 83.3% and received a special auditor-general trophy.

The next round of special awards covered note-worthy improvements. From 2022 to 2023, Kadya Majiedt from KhomasTura Project School facilitated an improvement in NSSCO geography from 10.8% to 71.4% (an improvement of 60.6%). Paulina Kandjinga from Delta Secondary School fostered an improvement from 16.7% to 72% (55.3% improvement) in NSSCAS geography. And lastly, Toini Nambahu from Jan Möhr Secondary School managed an improvement from 8% to 60% (52% increase). These teachers won OK Foods vouchers to the value of N$2 000, N$1 500 and N$1 000 respectively.

Schools were also awarded for their improvements. For the NSSCO schools, Khomastura High School advanced from 38th on the rankings to 13th. As for the NSSCAS school, Hochland High School jumped from 14th to fifth. Both these schools received a trophy and a certificate.

The schools with the highest pass rate were also awarded with a certificate and a trophy. The best NSSCO school was St Joseph’s Roman Catholic School with a 92% pass rate. Windhoek Gymnasium Private School received the award for the highest NSSCAS pass rate of 74.8%.



Best teachers

Two awards were given to teachers with a 100% pass rate. Kudzai Rukunda from Combretum Private School won a laptop for a 100% pass rate in NSSCO English second language. Another laptop was handed over to Zia van Wyk from Windhoek High School for NSSCAS Afrikaans second language. “I was completely taken aback as I was definitely not expecting such a prestigious award,” she said. “I believe that it motivates teachers to work harder in their respective subjects, knowing that they are rewarded for their efforts."