I applaud, unstintingly, the achievements of the matric class of 2023, no matter at which school they were in attendance nor in which suburb/town/city in South Africa they lived.
Obtaining that piece of paper is the catalyst for the opening of doors to your future, whether it be to higher learning institutions or merely qualifying for a job.
Well done to you all, however, let us forget the much promoted ceremony of recognition where our government officials put on their best wigs, coiffured braids and gaudy headdresses made with salvaged material offcuts. Sure, make a fuss, but the fuss should be concentrated on the high performing learners.
Let the diamond sparkle emulate from them not from the prancing officials.
While this achievement should not be downplayed, I feel the authorities forget the others.
The learners who also did very well but what about the lower grades.
These younger learners faced the same challenges and impediments that the Grade 12 learners did.
They had to contend with power blackouts, shortage of water, no school transport – perhaps having to walk kilometres to school and possibly absorbing all these challenges on an empty stomach.
I remember reading of a learner from a rural town who would go out and sit under a working street light in order to study and do homework. Yes!
We do not all have our lives given to us on a plate.
Some of us have double the struggles and by grit and determination do what I consider the almost impossible.
Pity the great roadshow does not include some of these really determined younger learners in the spotlight, because they surely deserve the recognition and it could spur others on to greater heights and achievements.
Of course, now the 2023 Grade 12 learners need to decide on a career path and pursue that line of study and, upon completion, hope there is a job available here or else it will be bye-bye and to far flung lands we go.
I believe Canada, Australia and New Zealand are the present destinations of choice, especially in the medical field.
No matter what is said about this much-vaunted investment in South Africa, I believe our Middle East excursion into the political arena has put chocks under the wheels of doing business with us. Black-balled again in a non-racist way.
But to reuse my least favourite word – challenges to the left and to the right and then we trip ourselves up. Aren’t we smart?
To reiterate. My congratulations to the 2023 class. May you find your niches and may your country not let you down in the future, which should look so bright you’d need to wear shades! God bless.
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