Behind the success of many who performed well in grade 12 last year are parents, teachers and community members who selflessly gave their time and other resources.
It is easy to look at the 82.9% matric pass rate, an improvement of 2.8% from 80.1% the year before, and think it represents the natural progression of things.
But when you look beneath the surface, the story of Maria Masemola, 44, the mother of Bhekumuzi Mnisi, a Kwamhlanga Senior Secondary pupil recognised as one of the country’s top achievers, emerges.
Masemola told TimesLIVE: “At times he would say, ‘Mama, I am going to sleep, can you wake me at this time?’ I would stay awake until the time came and only then went to sleep. I used to spend a lot of time with him when he was studying, I used to sit beside him.”
And therein lies one of the “secrets” to matric success. The role played by parents to help their children focus on their studies can’t be over-emphasised. Masemola did not only verbalise support, she also put in the hours, sacrificing her sleep so her child could succeed. And succeed he did — becoming one of the select few who did well around the country.
My parents are the ones who encouraged me the most and wanted me to succeed. They supported me the most and are excited about this. Seeing my parents wanting me to succeed motivated me
— Bonukwenza Mtshali, top matric achiever
She was not alone. Bonukwenza Mtshali, another top achiever, relied on candlelight to study for most of the year. After he told his teachers at Kadwa Secondary School in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, there was no electricity at his home they lent him a rechargeable light.
“I told my teachers about that [not having electricity at home] and one of them lent me a rechargeable light I could use to study. I used that light to help me study throughout the year.”
With light one step away from a torch, he performed better than many with access to electricity.
Again the parents, despite their poverty, put their shoulders to the wheel to help Mtshali. “My parents are the ones who encouraged me the most and wanted me to succeed. They supported me the most and are excited about this. Seeing my parents wanting me to succeed motivated me. They reminded me every day that I must focus on my goals and work hard for what I want to achieve. Every night when I slept, I thought about the things they said to me, their support and their love.”
Pupils in matric are the ones who must study hard, but when they succeed politicians want to claim credit. Basic education minister Angie Motshekga and her MECs may be correct to point to marginal increases and claim it represents major progress. Others will say the number of children able to read for meaning at an early age remains low and many other children who started school in this cohort fell by the wayside (more than 1.2-million pupils started school in this cohort but just more than 800,000 wrote the exams).
The truth is the success of education can’t rest only on the shoulders of education officials — even if they have a disproportionate responsibility to ensure books are supplied, classes start on time and school property is secured.
Pupils who did well have reminded the nation of the crucial role played by parents in their success. In Mnisi’s case, his grandmother died while he was preparing for his final exams and, in her honour, decided to focus more on his books.
A new culture must be developed, campaigns must be launched and the nation must work to ensure parents are active participants in their children’s education. It is one thing to buy school uniforms and stationery, but another to stay up at night as Maria Masemola did to support her child. The solutions are known — it’s up to parents what role they play in their children’s education.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.