MAY 31 marked the 15th annual graduation ceremony of Mthashana TVET College. Roughly 600 students from the disadvantaged communities of Ulundi, Nquthu, Mahlabathini, Nongoma, Maputa, Mhlabuyalingana, Louwsberg, Dundee and Ngoje prepared to enter the working force, hopeful of making a success of their career choices.
In his address, chairman of the Council, Mr SMJ Kubheka, boasted that Mthashana TVET College was ranked fourth in the country in terms of academic performance. He described a graduation ceremony as a moment of joy in the lives of young graduates.
“Today marks the determination and great strides made by the graduates in obtaining their qualifications. Today is your moment. This achievement is yours for life. Nobody can take it away from you,” he said.
College principal, Nhlanhla Dimba, thanked staff members who played a role in the success of the graduates, and commended the graduates for the hard work they put in, even under adverse conditions.
According to Mr Dimba, the Vryheid circuit has seven campuses in a radius of 350km catering for the very rural and deep rural areas. “Out of the nine colleges in KZN, Mthashana is one of the smallest, but I can say that our results are not as ‘small’ as we are. Our results are ‘bigger’ than the bigger colleges. We are very proud to have this 15th graduation where we will see our students going out to the real world of work. Let them go out there and make their families happy.”
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Graduates benefited from the wise words of guest speaker, Gugulethu Xaba, who has established himself as an entrepreneur, an economic development strategist, a public speaker and a certified business coach.
Mr Xaba encouraged the youth to become active contributors to the South African economy.
“South Africa is a highly contested terrain when it comes to economy,” concluded Mr Xaba. “Participating in South Africa requires active citizenry. It was a hard fought democracy and we are constitutionally supposed to be participating. We need to be our own saviours and take responsibility instead of pinning our hopes for a better country on particular individuals.”
