Matric class of 2022 a unique group ‘unacquainted with the concept of failure’

Despite being the class most affected by twin terrors Covid and load shedding, 2022’s matric pupils have shown great tenacity to achieve a stellar set of results, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said yesterday.

The 2022 NSC overall pass rate has reached the 80.1%, compared with 76.4% in 2021 – an improvement of 3.7% from the pass rate achieved by the Class of 2021.

While the pass rate in number of the Class of 2022 is the highest in the history of the National Senior Certificate examinations, when the pass rate is expressed as a percentage, that of the Class of 2019, which attained 81.3% pass rate, stands out as the highest so far, she said.

Matric class of 2022 ‘unique’

Motshekga was speaking at a breakfast she hosted for the top achievers and their guardians in Randburg. She described the Class of 2022 as a unique group, “unacquainted with the concept of failure and the ambassadors of public schooling”.

“The Class of 2022 did the last two and a half years of their schooling under intermittent Covid induced lockdowns, school closures and various difficulties, including curriculum trimming,” she said.

Among the proud whiz-kids honoured yesterday, Sibusiso Mathebula from IR Lesolang Secondary School in Winterveld, north of Tshwane, beamed with joy as he narrated his journey to becoming one of the select few who stood out from the pack.

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Despite coming from a township known for drug abuse, crime and violence, Mathebula was top of the leaderboard as the township’s top performer, beating the odds by refusing to allow some of the toughest of circumstances to be an excuse for not trying his best.

“Apart from dealing with anxiety and stress because Grade 12 is hard and needs a lot of dedication, coming from Winterveld, surrounded by drug abuse and crime, it became very demotivating at times,” he said.

“But thanks to my family, friends and school – and the support and faith they had in me. Without them, I don’t think I would be a part of this ceremony.”

Township schools ‘not a disadvantage’

Mathebula has received offers from the University of Cape Town (UCT), Stellenbosch University, the University of Johannesburg and the University of the Witwatersrand. His first choice is UCT, “to study astrophysics”.

“Coming from and studying in a township school is not a disadvantage,” he said. “We have equally competent teachers. I want to thank them for their contribution towards the success I enjoy today.”

While many pupils saw load shedding as an obstacle, 18-year-old Tebogo Mohutsioa from Madiba Comprehensive School in Krugersdorp used it for motivation and inspiration.

“I had a chance to communicate with my electrical technology teacher and he said there was a possibility to create my own power source, and that’s where the idea came from,” he added.

“Seeing where we came frommy classmates and I created an inverter for the whole Grade 12 of 2022, which helped us to study any time we needed without worrying about the load shedding schedule.”

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Mohutsioa also wants to go to UCT to pursue electrical and computer engineering.

“The electricity and load shedding crisis in our country has inspired my choice of study because I want to bring new ideas and solutions for this crisis,” he said.

Another top achiever, Simone Anna-Mart Louw, who wants to do electrical engineering at Stellenbosch University, encouraged the class of 2023 and any other pupil to prioritise rest as much as working hard.

“When I study, I know how far I can push myself – anything past that is a waste of time because I will not understand or learn anything,” she said. “So, do as much as you can and then rest.”

– reitumetse@citizen.co.za