These are the words of Unity Secondary School English teacher Mashoto Mashigo, who opened her home to one of her pupils, Pheziwe Mkhalane.
Pheziwe obtained eight distinctions in her final National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations.
Mashigo said she decided to take Pheziwe in as one of her own children because the girl would walk from her Cloverdene home to her Daveyton school.
“Her aunt was unemployed and couldn’t afford to give Pheziwe taxi fare, and she was supposed to walk through a veld alone,” she said.
“I thought, why not take her in so she can use the time she travels from home to school to study?
“I thank my husband for allowing me to give Pheziwe a proper study environment and it is by the grace of God that she managed to pass so well.”
Now, the sky is the limit for Pheziwe, as she was named the top performing pupil at a township school in Gauteng for the 2015 NSC examinations.
Her achievement was announced at the Gauteng Department of Education’s Top Achievers Award Ceremony, in Randburg, on January 6.
“I am so happy with my results, because I worked hard throughout the year,” said Pheziwe.
The 18-year-old obtained distinctions in IsiXhosa home language (87 per cent), English second additional language (87 per cent), mathematics (96 per cent), life orientation (95 per cent), accounting (98 per cent), business studies (94 per cent), economics (85 per cent) and religious studies (98 per cent).
Pheziwe comes from humble beginnings.
In 2013, she moved from the Eastern Cape to Gauteng in the hope of a better education.
“Not that there’s anything wrong with the education system back home, but the quality isn’t the same as here,” said Pheziwe.
Pheziwe said when she first arrived in Johannesburg, she lived with her aunt in Cloverdene. Her mother lives in the Eastern Cape.
Before her exams started, in August, she moved in with her English teacher.
“This opportunity allowed me to get good results because, at home, there were children who would often be noisy,” said Pheziwe.
The pupil said she had a study room at her teacher’s house and her teacher’s son was doing the same subjects – so studying together helped her a lot.
Her routine was easy, she would attend school during the day and afternoon classes until 6pm.
When she got back home, she would do her homework and sleep at 8pm.
She would then wake up at midnight to study until 3am.
Pheziwe also attended extra classes on Saturdays and Sundays.
“I could have decided to have fun with my peers on the weekends, but I didn’t, because I wanted to do well in the end,” she said.
“I also attended the Secondary School Improvement Programme (SSIP) and I’ve benefited a lot from the programme.”
She plans to study BCom Accounting Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand .
“I want to study at Wits because I feel like that’s were I can continue to do my absolute best,” she said.
Pheziwe said she realised her love for accounting in Grade Nine.
“In five years time I want to make my mark as a qualified chartered accountant,” she said.
“I see myself as a CEO in one of the leading accounting firms in South Africa.”
Her mother, Ntombekhaya Mkhalane, expressed her pride in her daughter.
“I was very happy when I heard about my daughter’s performance, she has done well for herself,” said Ntombekhaya.
Also read: Benoni High pupil walks away with eight distinctions
