Windhoek: More than 100 students from the Institute for Open Learning (IOL) submitted a petition to the institution's management, expressing their dissatisfaction and requesting that their August-September 2025 examination scripts be marked promptly. On Thursday, the students organised a peaceful demonstration at the institution's chambers in Windhoek, where they requested that their scripts be graded after reports indicated they remained unmarked due to unclear identification images (such as identification cards, driver's licences, and passports).
According to Namibia Press Agency, IOL procedures for the assessment and evaluation of examinations state that students will only be able to book once their ID, driver's licence, or passport is successfully verified by IOL. According to the petition, all students were successful in sitting for exams. In the petition addressed to the IOL Director and Examination Manager, Bronwin Basson, the students expressed their dissatisfaction over what they described as 'unfair penalties' arising from technical issues in the verification process used for online examinations.
According to the spokesperson of the Namibia National Students Organisation (Nanso), Jessy Abraham, the students are required to upload a verification image holding their identification document before accessing the examination paper. 'However, the same verification system that allows them to download their question papers is now being used to reject their submissions, with IOL claiming that the images were unclear,' argued Abraham.
Abraham said that the guidelines fail to explain what a clear image actually means or outline any technical or device requirements. 'The guidelines do not define what constitutes a clear image, nor do they specify device requirements or technical standards,' she said. The petition further contended that if the verification image was adequate for granting access to the examination paper, it should also be adequate for marking the script.
Students are urging IOL to mark all impacted scripts, waive penalties where no explicit rule was breached, and publicly communicate how the issue will be resolved. They have given IOL until Tuesday, 18 November 2025 to address their concerns, warning that no student will take supplementary examinations or register for future courses until the matter is resolved fairly.
Basson, who accepted the petition on behalf of the institution, promised the students that the institution would meet to review their grievances, discuss them, and provide answers.