Education ministry to the rescue

Did you lose your original grade 10 or 12 certificate? Keep calm, the education ministry has your best interests at heart.
The ministry has come up with four easy steps to follow if you find yourself in a situation where you either lost your certificates or they were stolen or damaged.

Many people worry there may not be any way to renew these documents or that they have to wait too long.

Here are four stress-free steps to follow to make sure that there are no hiccups when it comes to applying for a job or at a tertiary institution:

1. You can apply for a duplicate certificate. All you need to do is get an application form at the education directorate in your region. Wherever you may find yourself, there will be forms in all 14 regions of Namibia. However, in Windhoek, you can obtain the form from the directorate of national examinations and assessment at the head office, not the regional office.

2. Thereafter, you will be required to pay a small fee of N$40 for an application form for a grade 10 duplicate certificate and an amount of N$50 for a grade 12 duplicate certificate. These payments are required for the renewal of all certificates, regardless of how you lost them or the amount of damage.

3. After making the payment at your nearest education directorate and filling in the application forms, submit your application to the examination centre in your respective region.

4. The processing of the certificate takes about six weeks (or the specified time given during application process).

It is important to remain patient with the people to whom you submit these forms, because hundreds of people go to them on a daily basis. They will do their best to ensure that everyone receives their duplicates during the processing time.

Education is the greatest equaliser and thus no one should be left out. Go now and renew your individual certificates. Invest in your future now, and reap the fruits later.