While he spent most of his high school career studying by candlelight, Bonukwenza Mtshali finally saw light at the end of the tunnel when he was told he was one of the top achievers for the matric class of 2023.
Mtshali, 17, is one of seven children and attended Kadwa Secondary School in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal.
On Thursday night, he was handed an award by basic education minister Angie Motshekga for being the number one pupil under the category of quintile 2 schools in the country.
Mtshali told TimesLIVE Premium that he moved with his parents to Ballengeich in 2020, but due to conditions at home and his parents not working, they had no electricity. He resorted to using candlelight to do his school work.
In the same year, the Covid-19 pandemic hit and forced schools to close, leaving Mtshali along with the country’s pupils at home for almost five months. Mtshali said he was stressed and concerned as he was in the dark about his future.
He was among those who had to attend school on a rotational basis once they reopened later that year, and despite this, a lot of learning time was already lost.
“The exams that year were very tough because we didn’t get enough time to study. We all just wanted to progress to grade 10, which was very difficult. To pass to the next grade, you need knowledge from the previous grade. I didn’t get enough knowledge from grade 9 and I was nervous about what was going to happen. Questions were asked, but it was difficult for me to answer,” he said.
Despite the pandemic and studying in the dark for the difficult exams, a persistent Mtshali progressed to the next grade where he picked mathematics, life sciences, physical science, isiZulu home language, English first additional language and life orientation.
However, the school he attended was under-resourced as it had no laboratories for science pupils nor a library. Instead, he opted to travel a long distance to the nearest public library and his school had to outsource laboratory services for physical science pupils to do their experiments.
During his matric year, he breezed through mathematics and physical science which he found to be the easiest, but the subjects which gave him a headache were the languages, particularly his home language, isiZulu.
“It is my home language, but when I got into the exam room, something happened, I don’t know what to call it. I felt anxious because it’s my home language and I expected it to be easy, but when I walked into the exam room and saw the exam paper, it was something different,” he said.
However, earlier in the year, Mtshali turned to isiZulu teacher to share issues he faced at home of having no electricity.
“I told my teachers about that and one of them lent me a chargeable light that I can use to study. So I used that light to help me study throughout the year.”
Mtshali said he remained nervous about the outcome of his matric results but breathed a sigh of relief when he received a call from the department of basic education. However, the determined pupil said he didn't believe what he heard on the phone.
“The official told me that I was invited to Gauteng and that I was one of the top achievers, but I thought someone was pranking me. My brother asked who I was talking to and I gave him the phone and the official explained everything to me and that is when I realised it was not a prank. I was very excited. My parents were also so happy that they did not sleep that night,” he told TimesLIVE Premium.
His elderly father, Enoch Mtshali, who came with his mother Zodwa Mtshali, said the news nearly landed him in hospital as his blood pressure shot up due to the excitement and joy.
“I am so happy, I couldn’t sleep. I nearly went to hospital because I am an elder and have high blood pressure. I was expecting him to pass but not in such a way.
“We thank him for the efforts that he made. He was really studying hard, and we would like to thank the teachers for helping him because we don’t even have electricity where we stay. Some of the teachers brought a rechargeable light and he was studying with it,” said his delighted father.
Mtshali said his biggest motivation was his parents who encouraged him, supported him and showed him an abundance of love. His younger siblings played a role in his achievements as they looked up to him since he was always a top achiever in school.
As for his future, he has applied to the University of Cape Town, Wits University and the University of KZN to study medicine. His end goal is to specialise in oncology and treat cancer patients while also assisting his parents financially.
“I want to help my parents as they still don’t have electricity at home. But I become sad when I see people losing hope when suffering from cancer. Though I don’t know anyone who suffers from cancer, I read about cancer patients and it really touches me.”
