Angie Motshekga, minister of basic education, has lauded South Africa’s best matric class of 2022 students.
Motshekga described the Class of 2022 as “unfamiliar with the concept of failure and the ambassadors of public education,” indicating that they are a distinct cohort.
Thursday morning in Randburg, Johannesburg, she addressed the top achievers and their parents during a breakfast she arranged.
She stated that the Class of 2022 is unusual because they completed the new CAPS curriculum and were the first cohort to enroll in grade R. Due to the spread of Covid-19, they also faced the difficulty of strict lockdowns.
The auditorium was filled with parents and guardians gazing down at their youngsters seated in the first rows.
When the programme director, Given Mpho Mabena, brought down the register and asked the provinces to acknowledge their presence, the families took advantage of the chance to demonstrate whose province had the highest achievers.
The ululations, cheers, and claps provided a preview of the anticipated response when Motshekga announces the results at 6pm.
Northern Cape was noticeably absent from the brunch. KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and Gauteng provided so much brightness to a room already filled with smiling parents and guardians.
“You continue to be the light during loadshedding… You will abolish loadshedding, said Herbert Mweli, director-general of the Department of Education. “You beat power outages.”
Mweli commended the parents for shielding their children from social problems, noting that some teachers lacked a social life after work, on weekends, and during holidays because they were preparing the students for exams.
Motshekga stated that the matriculation certificate is the second most essential document after the birth certificate. “We request it even from physicians and those with PhDs. “Matric demonstrates your resilience,” stated Motshekga.
Motshekga, who was joined by her Deputy Minister, Dr. Reginah Mhaule, acknowledged the importance of parents to the achievement of children.
For the highest achievers, nerves remain high.
Sibusiso Mathebula from IR Lesolang Secondary School in Winterveldt, north of Tshwane, is eager to learn his results. Along with his mother Joyce and older brother Treasure, Mathebula has got offers from the University of Cape Town (UCT), Stellenbosch University, University of Johannesburg, and Wits University.
He stated, “I will study astrophysics at UCT.”
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