Hotstix struggled to convince his children to complete matric

Without a matric certificate himself, legendary saxophonist Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse said he struggled to convince his children to complete matric hence he enrolled himself and has since attained his matric certificate.

Speaking at the launch of the Carling Black Label initiative which is aimed at bridging the gap in adult education in a programme known as The Carling Black Label Class of its Own, Hotstix said he was at pains to convince his children to pay attention to their studies and ensure they completed their matric.

“Each time I stepped up to encourage them, they would tell me dad ‘you are not the right person to tell us that or encourage us to complete our matric as you did not complete yours’. This always shattered my emotions as I did not know how I would deal with these children and ensure they completed their matric,” Hotstix said.

The internationally-acclaimed musician said he had thought very hard about this and finally came up with a solution – to complete his matric and become a role model not just to his children but other children as well who he might meet and feel obliged to offer a word or two of advice.

In 2012, Mabuse took what he called a bold decision and returned to school at the age of 60 with one thing in mind, to complete his matric (Grade 12), and he registered at Peter Lengene Community Learning Centre in Soweto.

After a year, he walked out with a matric certificate in his hands. “I then went back to my children to push them to complete their matric and none of them could open their mouth to shut me down.
“Instead, I became a toast of the nation for my achievement. I started making music when I was young and would often go abroad and the glitz and glamour and popularity that came with it made me think school was not important then.

“Here I was making money and friends in high places, what else did I need? I decided to shove aside my education and concentrated on my new-found career, but when the children kept on playing the scratchy song that I was not qualified enough to keep urging them to complete [matric], I then decided this was about time.”
Mabuse said what he was trying to portray with his struggle with his own children was that ‘it is never too late to learn and complete your matric for those of you who do not have this certificate that opens doors for you’.

“I urge all of you, whoever you are, to stand and be counted as one of those people who took up the courage and ultimately completed your matric. This will make a lot of you employable. Even for the little job here and there that you do, the first word often asked is, ‘do you have a matric certificate?’”

Related Article: 

Men of all ages and races are encouraged to complete their matric