The principal of the Combretum Trust School has been subjected to veiled threats and intimidation by the Ministry of Education following her claims of discrepancies in the marking of examination papers.

The ministry appears to have been irked by Susan Brown's call for an investigation into the marking of high school exam papers.

After her comments were published in The Namibian, Brown was invited to a meeting with the Deputy Minister David Namwandi, the Director of Examinations and a number of other senior officials.

She took with her a 15-point plan (see on page 6) she had drawn up to help improve the marking system. However, the meeting was hostile not only to Brown's suggestions but also to her. She was subjected to threats regarding the future of her private school unless she complied with the ministry demands, including an apology for insinuations she had made in the media.

With regard to the alleged threats against Brown and Combretum, Namwandi was evasive and said only that they had requested evidence from her to support the need for an investigation.

"If there is really a problem, why is only one school out of 1 700 complaining?" he said, "There is no political agenda behind our marking system. Any form of discrimination between students would be a return to pre-colonialism and that is not consistent with our policies."

Although Namwandi would not confirm that the ministry had threatened Brown, he similarly did not deny it and chose not to comment on the subject.

Namwandi has accused Brown of diminishing the achievements of hardworking rural students who perform well.

Brown said if marks are indeed manipulated, those students who receive artificially poor marks are being crippled by their own Government and those who receive artificially high marks are being misrepresented to tertiary educations.

"The goal of the education system is not to have high marks; it is to have high levels of knowledge. Knowledge leads to good marks, not the other way round and if students are awarded higher marks on the basis of class or some other demographic in pursuit of mock development then the Ministry of Education has completely missed the point."

Brown claims that she was also threatened with legal action for going to the media with her concerns.

"I have consulted a lawyer and was told that the threat is baseless. My complaints are not defamatory or even accusatory. I have not actually accused the ministry of being corrupt or incompetent but I feel very strongly that something is amiss and an inquiry will determine the truth of that," she stated.

Brown said that she did not owe the ministry an apology and that calling for an investigation into inconsistent and unrealistic marks was not in itself an accusation.

Namwandi insisted that an investigation would not be conducted unless proof was offered to support the claims.

"I have proof in the form of testimonies from markers and teachers, but none of them want to confront the ministry for fear of their jobs," said Brown.

"The real proof is in the ministry's hands and can only be revealed as a result of an investigation, not as a prerequisite," Brown said.

Poor performance by urban schools and excellent performance by rural schools has been put down to the difference in lifestyle, with cities offering too many distractions.

Grade 12 answer papers are submitted not only with the name of the student on the front page but also their school name, and these details are reportedly used in decisions to award marks. Supervisors allegedly check the name and status of the school before deciding whether to be lenient or harsh in borderline cases, some suggest.

The reluctance on the part of the ministry to investigate the claims seems to be indicative of an inherent lack of transparency. Heads of department at schools are not allowed to see marked scripts on request and markers therefore cannot be held accountable for their decisions.

Although other members of the teaching community have expressed similar suspicions, none are willing to speak out, concerned that they will face similar treatment to that suffered by Brown.

Namwandi has been outspoken in his defence of the current marking system, saying that the distinction between rural and urban school performances can be put down to discipline and hard work.

When asked his opinion of the calls for changes in the education system, he said: "We welcome criticism so long as it is constructive. We cannot afford to be rigid but things must be done systematically." He declined to comment on the 15-point plan submitted by Brown, stating only that the ministry would take it under consideration.