Elise went to school at Onguti Secondary School where she failed Grade 12 with 17 points, came to Windhoek, enrolled for the PETE programme, and today she is aiming to do her biomedical studies at a university in Cape Town. She enjoyed her time at NAMCOL and feels that the teachers at the PETE programme did much more than her teachers back home. “Had I been taught some of the things I was taught at NAMCOL, I would have passed Grade 12 the first time around”, she added. She urges everybody, especially young people, to enrol with NAMCOL as she claims, that the other institutions out there are only after money and NAMCOL is cheaper, the teachers work harder and if you work hard, your results will improve. “The results published earlier this year proved that NAMCOL is not a place for failures!”

Kareree, a learner from Opuwo failed Grade 12 at Augustinium High School in 2008 with a meagre 16 points, yet today, she is enrolled at the University of Namibia (UNAM) where she is studying for an engineering degree. She fell, stood up and enrolled at the Namibian College of Open Learning’s (NAMCOL) Pre-entry to Tertiary Education (PETE) Programme in 2009 and at the end, obtained 31 points, a far-cry from where she was a year earlier. Hard work and dedication helped Kareree achieve this feat. Just look at the symbols for the four subjects she re-took: namely in English and Mathematics she improved from a D to a C symbol, respectively; In Physical Science she improved from an E to a B symbol, and Biology from an F to an A. She did exceptionally well. The PETE programme focuses on the following key subjects: English 2nd Language, Mathematics, Biology and… Read more “Kareree”

“I completed Grade 12 with NAMCOL last year and I am now studying towards a teaching diploma at UNAM. NAMCOL has afforded me the opportunity to achieve what I always wanted in life. When I failed Grade 12, the College proved to be the key to further my education and I am grateful. One thing, though, it is very affordable!”

Absalom feels that NAMCOL is a good institution but that many people fail due to their challenges and constraints at home. He feels NAMCOL should provide education to its learners which will help make them employable, such as adding vocational subjects to its programmes. “Look at me, I graduated from the Polytechnic but I am still job-hunting”

“NAMCOL is an institution that offers (Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in Namibia and it is in fact taking education to the people. I first started my education at NAMCOL in 2009 doing CED because I found NAMCOL to be affordable and satisfying towards the educational needs of the people. I am now doing the CYP because upon completion it would afford me to work with both the youth and adults!”

“The PETE programme gave us direction and we were motivated to do our best to such an extent that we can compete with any students from the best schools in Namibia.” These young men are a testimony of hard work and perseverance and would recommend NAMCOL and especially the PETE programme to anyone as they are busy studying at UNAM. Petrus wants to be the best laboratory scientist that Namibia has, while Malakia wants to be a medical doctor. “People who say that NAMCOL is for failures do not know what they are talking about. The College provided us with an opportunity to improve our marks and gave learners like us, the chance to become productive citizens of the country,” the young men testified.