Poor eyesight not an obstacle
It made no difference to Siyabonga Mnguni (18) whether he sat in the front or the back of the classroom -- he could not see what was being written on the board anyway.
The Daveyton resident matriculated from Noorderlig Gekombineerde Skool last year, with distinctions in life sciences and life orientation.
He achieved an average of 77 per cent in his final year.
These results may not have been so rosy had he not received spectacles.
“We were in the life sciences class and the teacher (Mariana Venter) was writing on the board when she asked me a question,” said Mnguni.
“I couldn’t answer it; I couldn’t see what was on the board.”
The pupils in class told Venter that their peer could not see.
The teacher later pulled Mnguni aside and asked whether financial reasons were to blame for him not having glasses, to which he responded “yes”.
The youngster said he especially found life difficult in the maths and science classes, as 80 per cent of the work was written on a board and he was unable to make out letters or numbers, seeing only chalk marks.
To counter this, Mnguni would visualise what he heard in class.
“It never bothered me that much, because I was always reading from my text book; the problem came in mostly when the teacher was doing illustrations on the board,” he said, adding that his poor eyesight has plagued him for years.
The school approached former pupil Jan Jansen (an optometrist), who put his business partner in touch with Mnguni.
The Boksburg-based Optispec tested Mnguni’s eyes in March.
Marilize van Staden, co-owner of Optispec, said Mnguni’s eyesight was classified as medium myopia (short-sighted).
She said anything further than 30cm from his eyes was out of focus.
“I am very surprised that he was able to function, go to school and pass subjects,” said van Staden.
The optometrist covered the cost for the eye test while the school paid for the frame and lenses.
Mnguni will now take a gap year.
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