OPUWO: Despite disappointing results in last year's Namibia Senior Secondary Certificate Ordinary (NSSCO) and Advanced Subsidiary (AS) examinations, the Kunene education directorate remains optimistic.Petrus Shipalanga, the region's interim education director, told Nampa recently there was a modest improvement, as 15.95 per cent of learners qualified for Advanced Subsidiary level compared to 11.3 per cent in 2022.Shipalanga however said more efforts should be made to improve the region's academic performance as despite this progress, just 160 of the region's 1 003 students who wrote the examinations last year, qualified for AS Level.He further revealed that the Kunene Region encountered difficulties in executing the Regional Improvement Plan. The challenges included understaffing in professional development areas such as English, commercial subjects, agricultural science, and junior primary.'Other subjects did not have senior education officers to give professional support to instructors,' he explaine d.Shipalanga acknowledged that the region has teachers who are misplaced or underqualified to teach in the senior secondary phase, noting that some secondary phase teachers are only equipped to teach up to Grade 9, whilst others are trained for the junior primary and senior primary phases.Speaking to Nampa about Kunene's performance in the examinations, community activist and Opuwo Primary School board member, Tjakazapi Mbunguha said alcohol and drug abuse amongst learners also contribute to the low pass rate.Mbunguha advocated for the ban of school-aged children in bars and entertainment venues so that they can concentrate on their studies, as well as for parents to become active in their children's education.The Kunene Education Directorate has planned teachers' conferences to address the region's performance in the 2023 examinations and to improve academic performance in future.The first teachers' conference was held in Khorixas on Friday, with the remainder of the conferences taking place this w eek.Source: The Namibia Press Agency