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Despite disruptions and threats by gangsters during their final exams, 110 matriculants from the “no-fee” Siyabonga Secondary School in Braamfischerville, Soweto, obtained university entrance passes.
Principal Patric Malejwe also suffered at the hands of a former pupil, a gangster who chased him around the school wielding a panga.
Gangsters targeted the school because they believed some of the male pupils were abandoning them to focus on their studies. The gangsters also fought over territory and ownership of branded Italian Navigare beanies, which seemed to hold special status for them. Other issues that disrupted schooling were alcohol and drug abuse. At least six girl pupils were young mothers, while some of the children came from poverty-stricken backgrounds and depended solely on social grants.
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However, while these challenges caused some of the pupils to drop out of school, they did not deter teachers from continuing to teach.
Against all odds, the school attained a 92.8% pass rate, making it the top achiever among the schools in Braamfischerville. Of 208 pupils who wrote their final matric exams, 110 obtained university entrance passes, 63 obtained diplomas and 20 obtained higher certificates, while only 15 did not pass.
The school recorded 45 distinctions.
Melody Nkosi (19), who obtained a university entrance pass, detailed how gangsterism had affected the pupils’ studies.
She added that she wanted to pursue a career in transport and management.
Joseph Sitjie, the elated chairperson of the school’s governing body, said these were the best matric results the school had achieved since its establishment in 2012.
“It was very difficult to achieve this success because our principal’s only been employed here for a year, but he made it and showed everyone [what he could do],” said Sitjie.
He explained that, due to gang-related activities, it was difficult for some pupils to come to school regularly and this affected their studies.
He added:
“Others are teenage mothers and have to take their babies to the clinic. So we know that one day in each month a young mother will be absent from school. Still, the support that we’re getting from the community at large is beautiful.”
Sitjie said there were gang-related activities around the school.
“There are many gangs and they either want their members back or their gangs [to operate] on the school premises.
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“These are the things that led to some of the 15 pupils not passing matric. We actually expected only five to fail. Other issues that resulted in them failing were absenteeism, noncompletion of work and pupils’ performance in previous years,” he explained.
