/ 19 January 2018

Big dreams drive EC top achievers

Eastern Cape top matric achievers receive their awards
Eastern Cape top matric achievers receive their awards

Eastern Cape rural schools may have a poor track record, but some are renowned as being pockets of excellence. Often, learners from these schools beat the odds and score near 100% marks in maths and science. Some of these excellent schools include St John’s College in Mthatha, St James Senior Secondary School in Cofimvaba and Toli Senior Secondary School in Lusikisiki, and this year they once again dominated the top matric student awards in the Eastern Cape, where 57 awards were given out on January 5.

But Lehana Senior Secondary School held its own this year — one of its learners, Reamohetse Mofitiso (17) become the top student in the entire province.

Although coming from one of the most disadvantaged schools (so-called Quintile 1 schools) in one of the poorest areas, Mofitiso not only was the number one matriculant in the Eastern Cape this year, he also came number one among Quintile 1 school learners in the entire country, and received the Minister’s Award for his efforts at the award ceremony held in Pretoria on January 4.

Mofitiso got 100% for physical science, 97% for maths, 100% for geography and 98% for Life Sciences; in his other six subjects his marks were all above 90%. With his drive and achievements, the youngster has edged closer to his dream of becoming an actuary.

“I am very happy. I am very excited. I was expecting to do well, but not to the extent of being one of the top students in the entire country. I was doing great during the year but this achievement came as a surprise, because the exams were very challenging. I want to study actuarial science at the University of Cape Town (UCT),” he said.

Mofitiso, who lives in Mount Fletcher with his grandparents, credits especially his grandmother and his maths teacher as his main supports. “Of all my teachers, Mr Makhabane, my maths teacher, believed in me from grade 10 that I can make it to the provincial awards. Our teachers have been telling us that the class of 2017 was the best they’ve had.

“My parents separated long ago, and I was raised on my mom’s side, living with my grandparents. I can dedicate my achievement to my school, my peers and family, who have been a source of support, always believing in me and encouraging [me]. It also comes down to hard work and time management.”

The 17-year-old said he had received two printers, three laptops, a Samsung tablet, R20 000 from the Industrial Development Corporation and a R2 000 voucher from Vodacom.

Pearson High School student Abigail Sieberhagen came second in the province, achieving 100% for history, 94% for physics, 92% for English and 91% for maths, among other top results.

Mphoentle Piliso dreams of becoming a doctor. She says the financial hardship her family of seven faces has motivated her to strive for a better life. Piliso, whose mother died when she was a toddler, says the family including uncles, aunts and cousins, and survives mainly on her grandmother’s social grant.

Except for IsiXhosa for which she achieved 89%, Piliso achieved above 90% for all her exams, with 99% for physics and 94% for maths.

“I am very excited and overwhelmed. I never expected [to make it into the] top learners in the province. To say I am excited is an an understatement of how I am feeling right now,” said Piliso, who wants to study medicine at UCT.

“I will finally be studying medicine, which is what I have wanted for the longest time. I have pushed hard because I wanted to improve my family’s financial situation. We only depend on my gran’s pension money; it’s not enough to sustain us. When I think about my situation, even if I’m tempted to sleep, I get up and study,” she said.

Piliso said the deputy principal at her school Mr Siqwebhu has also been a source of encouragement for her. Piliso got a bursary from the premier’s office in the Eastern Cape, a prize of R5 000 from Standard Bank and a laptop.

Phikolomzi Mjikelwa from St James received the MEC’s Award as the top student in the HDI category. Mjikelwa said he took a decision to make his studies a priority, which culminated in him getting top marks for his matric — he got 100% in both physics and maths, 92% in IsiXhosa, 95% in geography, 83% in English, 86% in life orientation and 92% in life science.

“Hard work and a good work ethic was how I achieved this level. The attitude I adopted was that I am not giving up my social life, but I am making school my life.”

Mjikelwa said his maternal uncle, who is also gifted academically, has been a source of encouragement and inspiration.

“I was born into an extended family living in a small house. My parents lived with my grandparents, with two other siblings before me. I have looked up to my uncle from an early age because he is known to be brilliant. My father is very well-respected man in the community and I wanted to earn that kind of respect. My school also has that reputation, it is respected throughout the province,” said Mjikelwa.

“My maths teacher in grade nine was the kind of person who pushes you towards fulfilling your potential. He has also been a very positive influence in my life.”

He wants to study actuarial science at UCT, and says he has received several offers for bursaries, including from the education MEC’s office.

“Old Mutual is the one I trusted the most and they will fully cover my studies. I think I am going to go with Old Mutual,” said Mjikelwa. 

Stats

Overall Pass

In 2017, the Eastern Cape DoE fielded 67 648 learners who wrote all subjects, and 43 981 passed the national senior certificate examinations at the required levels. This brought the pass rate up to 65%.

Bachelor Passes

Bachelor passes increased by 4% from 19% in 2016 to 23% in 2017. The proportion of learners obtaining a bachelor pass has not surpassed 20% since 2014.

Subject Performance

Of the 39 subjects written in the EC, only 12 declined.

Improvements were registered in these big enrolment subjects:

  • Agriculture improved by 1%, from 71.5% to 72.5%
  • Economics by 5.6%, from 54.5% to 60.1%
  • Geography by 0.5%, from 69.3% to 69.8%
  • History by 4.5%, from 74.8% to 79.4%
  • Life sciences by 6.8%, from 61.7% to 68.5%
  • Math literacy by 8.3%, from 56.1% to 64.4%
  • Mathematics by 4.8%, from 37.5% to 42.3%
  • Physical Science by 7.7%, from 49.6% to 57.3%.
  • Languages

    Languages except Afrikaans and English Home Languages, showed improvement with:

  • IsiXhosa Home Language remaining at 99.8%
  • Sesotho improving by 0.1%, from 99.2% to 99.3%
  • IsiZulu improving by 20%, from 80% to 100%.
  • Distinctions

    The number of candidates obtaining distinctions improved in 2017.

  • Overall percentage improvement moved from 2.1% in 2016 to 2.7% in 2017
  • Cluster A distinctions improved from 1.6% in 2016 to 2.4% in 2017
  • Cluster B distinctions improved from 2.6% in 2016 to 3% in 2017
  • Nelson Mandela Bay had the highest percentage at 4.5% of distinctions
  • Buffalo City was second at 3.9%
  • OR Tambo Inland was third at 3.4%.
  • District Performance

    Two districts obtained a pass of above 70%, and eight districts obtained pass marks of between 60-69%, resulting in 10 of the 12 districts obtaining above 60%, with only two districts performing below 60%.

  • NMB was the leading District at 72.6%
  • Sarah Baartman followed at 71.8%
  • OR Tambo Inland improved at 69.3%
  • Chris Hani West also improved at 67.9%
  • Alfred Nzo West made some gains at 67.3%
  • Joe Gqabi improved at 67%.
  • Four districts registered quality bachelor passes that surpassed the provincial average:

  • Nelson Mandela Bay at 28.7%
  • Buffalo City at 27.3%
  • OR Tambo Coastal at 26.6%
  • OR Tambo Inland at 26.3.
  • Districts that performed well:

  • OR Tambo Coastal improved by 14.9%, from 46.7% to 61.7%
  • Chris Hani East improved by 9%, from 52.8% to 61.8%
  • Alfred Nzo East improved by 7.1%, from 55.3% to 62.4%
  • NMB improved by 6.9%, from 65.7% to 72.6%
  • Chris Hani West improved by 5.8%, from 62.1% to 67.9%.