Motshekga: Matriculants fought a good fight despite cha...

The matric class of 2022 had demonstrated “high levels of excellence” despite the Covid lockdown, rolling blackouts and other disruptions in recent years.

These were the remarks of Department of Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga addressing pupils, parents, MTN Foundation stakeholders and media at a celebratory breakfast in Roodepoort, Johannesburg, for the top achievers from South Africa’s government schools. 

“The matric class of 2022 is a unique group in many ways… It’s a group that did the new curriculum assessments — National Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS). The majority of this group made up the cohort when we introduced Grade R. It’s a group that demonstrated high levels of excellence because when they were in Grade 10, Covid-19 pandemic hit which caused a lot of disruptions in the learning and teaching environment. Something in me was telling me our kids were not going to make it and were going to struggle after two years of disruptions, having lost so much teaching time. But they have proved us wrong and remained the light amid load shedding.”

Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga speaking at Class of 2022 top achievers celebratory breakfast at the MTN offices in Fairlands Johannesburg on 19 January 2023. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)

According to Motshekga, top matric learners in South Africa represent much more than just academic excellence; they carry the entire basic education system on their shoulders and embody the hopes and aspirations of their schools, families and communities.

At least 30 top achieving matriculants were celebrated at the minister’s breakfast, ahead of the results being announced publicly at 6pm on Thursday. The achievers came from eight of the country’s nine provinces, with Northern Cape not making the cut.

Details of their individual performances were yet to be released pending the official release of the results. 

Most of the top achievers were female.

Daily Maverick spoke with a few of these top-performing matriculants. Below are their stories.

Khanyisile Landingwe — Eastern Cape

Among the many celebrated achievers was Landingwe Khanyisile — a former learner of Nyanga High School in the rural town of Ngcobo in the Eastern Cape. The proud parents of Khanyisile, Nathiswa Nqwiliso and Khayalethu Nqwiliso described her as a go-getter.

Khayalethu said they were not surprised by her achievement since they saw her put in the hard work day and night.

“We come from a very small town which is also disadvantaged. Resources are not readily available to help our children but they are still able to make the most of the little they have. We are thankful to the school for its continuous support. In our family, I can’t think of anyone who has ever completed their matric with such brilliant marks. We are proud parents today because of her,” said Nathiswa.

For Khanyisile, being recognised as one of the top achievers was indeed a dream come true.

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“I have worked hard for this day. I started dreaming about it in grade 8. Seeing this day come to life is so fulfilling. It means now I can go on and achieve my other goals. I don’t know what my results look like for now but I can assure you it’s all distinctions 90% and above.”

Khanyisile intends on pursuing a degree in actuarial science at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits).

Class of 2022 top achiever Khanyisile Landingwe of Eastern Cape joined minister of Education Angie Motshekga for a celebratory breakfast at the MTN offices in Fairlands Johannesburg on 19 January 2023. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla) Safiyyah Wadee — North West

“I am excited and at the same time overwhelmed to be recognised as a top achiever. But this is an affirmation for me that hard work pays off and all the sacrifices made did not go in vain. I did expect it but I prayed about it,” said Safiyyah Wadee.

Wadee told Daily Maverick that her matric year was not easy because the workload was heavy and, on the side, she had to take care of her 15-year-old younger sister because her mother was often away from home to take care of her sickly grandmother in Johannesburg. But Wadee never gave up.

“People often underestimate the matric workload and the effort it takes from yourself and teachers. I had to sacrifice my weekends and social life and dedicated it to my studies but tried to keep balance with my mental health and faith.”

Wadee is currently waiting on confirmation from Wits to pursue a degree in medicine and surgery.

“Hopefully I become a successful doctor one day and make a positive impact on people’s lives in the ever-changing medical field,” concluded Wadee.

Class of 2022 top achiever Saffiyyah Wadee of North West at the MTN offices in Fairlands Johannesburg on 19 January 2023. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla) Husnaa Haffejee — KwaZulu Natal

Husnaa Haffejee a former pupil from Al Falaah College in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal said she found out on Tuesday evening that she had been invited to the top achiever’s celebratory event. But since the call, she did not believe it until the event on Thursday morning.

“Everything is still more like a dream and very sudden. All I know is that I am receiving an award and I’m very anxious about my results which I will only get tomorrow… But I am hoping the results earn me a spot in the medical school that will give me a sense of fulfilment of these 12 years I have spent in school,” said Haffejee.

Class of 2022 top achiever Husnaa Haffejee of KwaZulu-Natal at the MTN offices in Fairlands Johannesburg on 19 January 2023. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla) Simone Anna-Mart Louw — Western Cape

Simone Anna-Mart Louw — a former pupil from Bloemhof High School in the Western Cape — told Daily Maverick that she was not sure why she was at the top achiever’s celebratory event because she expected her grades to have dropped by as much as 20% after missing large amounts of school in her matric year because of personal challenges she had encountered.

“I didn’t expect to be a top achiever. I never even knew something like this exists. I was in the gym with my cousin when I got the call. I didn’t believe it but now that I see its happening I am beyond happy. God is the reason I am here today.”

Post matric Louw is interested in doing electric engineering at Stellenboch University. 

Class of 2022 top achiever Simone Anna-Mart Louw at the MTN offices in Fairlands Johannesburg on 19 January 2023. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla) Kanetso Lekhisa — Free State

Kanto Lekhisa told Daily Maverick he did expect recognition for the hard work he had put in throughout his matric year. Lekhisa — a former pupil from Bloemfontein in the FreeState — said post-matric he would like to pursue architecture at the University of Cape Town, to feed his interest in designing buildings. 

Lekhisa hopes completing matric will not merely be a rite of passage but will also bring positive change to his life and that of his family.

“I am the first person to complete matric in my family. It means a lot to me and my parents and my younger siblings who now have me to look up to as the perfect example. And to change the situation at home.”

Class of 2022 top achiever Kanetso Lekhisa of Free State at the MTN offices in Fairlands Johannesburg on 19 January 2023. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)

Motshekga drew the celebratory breakfast to a close by saying: “We thank learners for putting in the hours and avoiding the well-beaten path to failure by being slack. We thank the teachers for recognising the spark of greatness in these learners and lighting a fire under them. Success beckons success! Go forth and conquer!” DM