Grade Seven Exam Results - 2010

The results are in. The Namumu Community School received its official Grade 7 Exam scores the other day and there was reason to celebrate. Out of the 42 Grade 7 students taking the exam, 29 passed to move on to Grade 8 at Siavonga Basic School next year. Out of the 13 who didn’t pass, it’s likely that 7 or 8, all of which barely missed the cutoff, will qualify for a remedial Grade 8 program that will allow them to work through to Grade 9 next year.

Relative to other Primary Schools throughout Zambia, especially ones in very rural areas, like Namumu, these results are very, very good. I was talking about it all with Moses Fwanyanga, the Namumu Community School’s Assistant Teacher-In-Charge, and he was very pleased. We were chatting with a former Namumu teacher who now works at another Primary School outside of Siavonga, and it turns out his group passed only around 10 out of 70, far behind the performance of Namumu.

I asked Moses why he thought Namumu did so well year after year. He suggested the smaller class sizes may have something to do with it. Namumu has around 30 kids per class, whereas some local schools sometimes have anywhere from 40 to 50 or more. He also attributed the success to Namumu’s teachers, who he thought were more hard-working and focused than other teachers around town. He was bursting with pride as he told me this. It was nice to see.

Passing the Grade 7 Exam is a big deal. Those who do get to move on to Grade 8 in the Basic School in town. They get to wear new, different colored uniforms and go to school with older kids. There’s a status attached. For those who don’t pass, they’re allowed to repeat Grade 7 next year and take the exam again, but still, failing is pretty discouraging, especially when all of your friends have passed. And those who fail again often drop out of school, never to return.

Of the children boarding at Namumu who took the exam, all but two passed on to Grade 8. It was really sad, actually. I was around when the kids found out the results and everyone started cheering and jumping and screaming because they had passed and passing is a big deal. Everyone except for the two girls who failed. I didn’t get a chance to talk to them, but I’d imagine it’s been a tough week for them.

So, let’s pray that Namumu Community School can keep up the good work, and that our two non-passing girls can pick things up next year.