MEC MAJUBA URGED GRADE 12 LEARNERS OF MKHONDO EAST AND WEST CIRCUITS TO EMBRACE THE SPIRIT AND COMMITMENT OF BATHOBILE NKAMBULE AND GERT SIBANDE- " THE LION OF THE EAST

"The stories of Bathobile Nkambule and that of Gert Sibande – “the Lion of the East” must inspire you and invoke in you the desire to succeed at all cost" .

BELOW IS THE FULL SPEECH:

Speech by the MEC for Education, Bonakele Majuba at the Occasion of the Grade 12 Motivational Session at Nqubeko Secondary School on 16 March 2023 in Mkhondo Local Municipality

Programme Director and Gert Sibande Circuit Coordinator – Mr MS Phako

Member of the mayoral Council: Cllr TE Khumalo

Representatives from the House of Traditional Leadership: Inkosi Mthethwa

Ward Councilors

Chairperson of the SGB, Ms M Ntshangase

Members of the SGB

Pastor Sipho Nhleko and Pastor Ali Mokoena

Leadership from Vodacom : Ms Mbali Mkhize

Members of the Senior Management

Members of the District Management Team

Circuit Managers – Mr Luthuli

School Principal, Mr. SD Motha

Principals of the Participating Schools

Leadership of the Representative Council of Learners

Officials of the Department of Education and

Learners

Sanibonani.

Thank you very much for honouring us with your presence.

We are truly grateful to be in the company of the Class of 2023 – the Class of Dreams.

Of great significance is that we are in Gert Sibande District which is the most improved district following the Announcement of the 2022 Grade 12 Examination Results.

This therefore means that we have gathered here in numbers to celebrate the excellent achievements of the Class of 2022.

Richard Gert Sibande was one of the outstanding struggle activist who led from the front what was known as the Potato Boycott around 1959.

His dedication and commitment to liberate the people of the East was great without compare.

He was a fearless hero of the struggle for the emancipation of the people hence he was nicknamed _ “The lion of the East”

I thought it is imperative that you know who Gert Sibande was, so that you may equally embrace the wish to succeed no matter the circumstances you find yourself in.

How I wish that you must be equally passionate, vigorous and dedicated to your work as Gert Sibande was towards the struggle for Freedom and Democracy.

We also wish to use this opportunity to congratulate the Gert Sibande Education District as it registered a 77.7% pass rate which is an improvement of 5,5% to the 72.2% pass rate obtained in 2021.

This Improvement defines Gert Sibande as the most improved District in the province.

Congratulations are in order to the District Director, Mr. PP Magagula and his entire team stretching from the classrooms, staff rooms, circuit offices to the District.

Keep up the good work.

I stated earlier that Gert Sibande District was overall the most improved District in the Province.

As if that is not enough, the most Improved Circuit is also from this District and it is Lekwa East which improved its results by 15.5 % thus obtaining a 96.6% pass rate in 2022. Congratulations to that Circuit as well.

I hope you are aware that the 2022 overall best grade 12 learner is also a daughter of this District from Highveld Secondary School.

She obtained distinctions in all her subjects as such she was the overall best leaner in quintile 1 schools in the country and the best of the best in Mpumalanga – the Place of the Rising Sun.

As a reward for her achievement, she has received, R10 000.00 courtesy of SASOL, R 15 000.00 courtesy of Standard Bank, R 20 000.00 courtesy of ABSA,

R 15 000.00 courtesy of IDC, a tablet from Vodacom, a Power Bank and Bluetooth Headphone from Telkom as well as a Bar Fridge, Steam Iron and Travel Bag.

She also received a full bursary from the Mpumalanga Provincial Government that caters for tuition, accommodation, stationary, meals and a monthly stipend. She also received a brand new sponsored car.

Her name is Bathobile Nkambule who is the true personification of hard work at play.

Many of our learners often hide behind their background and social status, using these as a shield that blocks them from breaking through barriers.

Bathobile Nkambule challenged and changed the odds staked against her and the mindset prevalent in our communities that it is only learners in former model C schools who are able to excel and be at the top.

You too, can achieve like her and even more than what she achieved. This is possible only if you listen attentively to your teachers and make decisions to do things better with more vigor and commitment this time around.

You need to embrace the fighting spirit of Gert Sibande – the Lion of the East and the wisdom and tenacity of Bathobile Nkambule. It is doable – It is all in your hands.

Out of the 17 local Municipalities in the Province, Mkondo Local Municipality is standing at position 10 after it obtained a 72.7% pass rate following the results of 2022. Congratulations are in order.

We are here to humbly request that we work together, Cllr Khumalo , to improve the 2023 results of all grades in this Municipality.

Programme Director, The Department has 71 Circuits and all of them administered the National Senior Certificate Examination.

Mkhondo East Circuit improved its grade 12 Results by 6.6% and thus obtained a 66.5% pass rate. Congratulations, Mr Luthuli with your team.

This Circuit is standing at position 65 out of 71 circuits. Equally, we are here to request for more improvement.

Mkhondo West Circuit improved its grade 12 results by 19.5% as such it obtained an impressive 82.5% pass rate. This Circuit is standing at position 19 out of 71 Circuits. Congratulations are truly in order Ms PM Khanye.

Programme Director , now, let us come closer to home and look at how your schools have performed in the 2022 National Senior

Certificate Examination Results.

Let me start by extending my appreciation to Ndlela Secondary School for their heartwarming musical rendition, we were truly entertained here today.

Mkhondo West Circuit had five schools which administered the 2022 National Senior Certificate Examination:

Sinethemba Secondary School had 36 leaners who wrote the Examination and of those, 24 passed as such the school obtained a 66.7% pass rate.

Zendelingpost Combined School has 135 grade 12 learners, who wrote the exam last year, of those 93 passed as such the school obtained a 68.9% pass rate.

Kemp siding Combined School had 61 grade 12 leaners who wrote last year, of those 45 passed as such the school obtained 73.8% pass rate.

Siphokuhle Secondary School had 95 learners who wrote last year, of those 84 passed and the school obtained an impressive 88.4% pass rate.

Hoërskool Piet Retief had 135 learners, who wrote and 135 passed as such the school obtained an outstanding 100% pass rate.

Programme Director, Let us now take a look at the performance of schools in Mkhondo East:

Ndlela Secondary School had 389 learners who wrote and 164 passed as such the school obtained a 42.2% pass rate.

Amadlelo Aluhlaza Secondary School had 217 learners who wrote and 122 passed as such the school obtained at 56.2% pass rate.

Piet Retief Combined had 50 learners who wrote last year, of those 37 passed and the school obtained a 74.0% pass rate.

Ubuhlebuzile Secondary School had 275 learners who wrote and 226 passed as such the school obtained an impressive 82.2% pass rate.

Nqubeko Secondary School which is our host school today had 212 learners who wrote and 154 passed as such the school obtained an impressive 82.4% pass rate.

Cana Secondary School had 55 learners who wrote and 48 passed as such the school obtained an impressive 87.3 % pass rate.

Kwashuku Secondary School had 137 and 120 of them passed and the school obtained an impressive 87.6% pass rate.

We wish to take this opportunity to congratulate all the grade 12 learners of 2022 who made the mark and further wish them well in their studies for 2023 and beyond.

We are deliberately presenting these results so that you can be aware of how your schools performed last year and for you to make a conscious decision to improve the results of your school this time around.

It is all in your hands, you can change the way people look at you and your school for the better.

All that you need to do is to take a position and work smarter and harder than before – respect your teachers, pay attention to what they are telling you and walk an extra mile in your school work.

You must stop blaming your environment and others for your lack of focus and laziness but look at the positive side of things and make things work for you.

It is only you who must rise to the occasion in order to be counted amongst the best of the best.

The stories of Bathobile Nkambule and that of Gert Sibande – “the Lion of the East” must inspire you and invoke in you the desire to succeed at all cost .

When I said you are the Class of Dreams, I was thinking of the famous quotation by the late Martin Luther King where he said:

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”.

Indeed, our children must at all times possess a character full of humility, wisdom, integrity, self-discipline and accountability, and that is the character of a winning learner.

Programme Director, we are in the company of a team from VODACOM.

They are here to motivate you and to show you a platform that will assist you to supplement the work that you were taught by your teachers.

Take advantage of the opportunity that is presented to you to improve your learning outcomes.

Conclusion

As I conclude, it is also fair to say that the achievement of Bathobile Nkambule must be a challenge to all learners in the Province.

It is on those bases that I make a challenge to the Class of 2023 to emulate her performance and strive to do even better than her.

My beloved learners, let us begin today to take up this challenge with renewed energy, focus, hope and determination.

Tell yourselves that if the Class of 2022 did it, you equally can do it, even much better.

I wish to take this time to thank everyone for all the support to the Department and to our learners.

Surely your support and prayers are not taken for granted.

Siyabonga Kakhulu.