Africa-Press – Namibia. SOME Grade 11 pupils who excelled in the 2021 national examination for the Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate, say their hard work, dedication and sleepless nights have paid off.
Enobong Akpabio (17) from Reverend Juuso Shikongo Senior Secondary School in the Oshikoto region is the best-performing pupil in this exam in the country, followed by Hendrik Smit (18) and Mia Van Wyk (17) from Walvis Bay Private High School in second and third place.
Taro Samuelson (17) from Windhoek Gymnasium, and Max Feilmeier (17) from Delta Secondary School in the Khomas region ranked fourth- and fifth-best in the country. Akpabio says she is very happy with her results, although she was faced with many challenges last year, such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Covid-19 disrupted the teaching and learning process, meaning I had to work harder to make up for the time lost. Additionally, rewriting also drained me emotionally and mentally,” she says. Akpabio says with the support of her parents, teachers, and friends she managed to pass with flying colours.
“I must say my biggest supporter was God. I spoke to him a lot and he carried me through all this. Your mindset plays a major role, and if you’re willing to put in whatever it takes, you will succeed,” she says.
Rhosta Lyatumba, who made it to the top-20 students in the country, says she is excited. “I believe I worked hard and prayed enough for this position. I had sleepless nights, and I am so glad my hard work has paid off,” she says.
Windhoek Gymnasium’s Mione Garbers (17), in sixth position, says she did not expect to be among the top 20. “We never thought we would be here, but we worked hard for this. We would like to encourage others to also work hard,” she says.
Leena Amakali, a parent, says she is proud of her daughter, who ranks 15th. “As a parent, we tried to help her with food and school materials. We also made sure she had enough free time and time to study,” she says. Attie Samuelson, another parent, says he is proud his son made it to the top five.
“Life will obviously throw challenges at you, but stay true to yourself and you will achieve good results. Parents should support their children where they can, so that they know they have a safe environment to come home to,” he says.
Samuelson says parents should always be available to support their children’s dreams. Gerlind Bader, a teacher at Delta Senior Secondary School, says it was a challenging year, but she is proud of her pupils.
“There were lots of tears and sweat, but we are proud they made it,” she says.
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