Mthobisi Nketha had ambitions of venturing into the field of agriculture when he sat to write his Grade 12 exams in 2014.
Those hopes were dashed after he was among 113 Mashiyamahle High School pupils who allegedly cheated during the exams.
Now Nketha and the others, who were implicated in the scandal that rocked KZN when it surfaced in January 2015, are left watching their lives ebb away as the Department of Education still refuses to release their results.
Initially, Mashiyamahle High, based in the rural Shudu Village in Ndwedwe, had the results of all their 139 matriculants withheld because they were believed to be part of the group that allegedly cheated.
The school was among dozens implicated.
The department initially had the results of Mashiyamahle published in newspapers but did not furnish the pupils with their detailed results, thereafter.
Results for 26 pupils who were previously implicated were finally released in March, but Nketha was not among them.
Mashiyamahle’s principal Zachias Ntanzi said the department is yet to provide an explanation on why the remaining pupils results are still being withheld.
“When we found out we had been implicated, we were shocked but agreed to co-operate with the department’s investigation because we knew we had nothing to hide,” Ntanzi said.
Some of the former pupils were also instructed to write the supplementary exams and Ntanzi said he urged them to “comply and complain later”. Those results were never released either.
The accused group were first bussed to Stanger High School for a hearing, in January 2015, but they are still awaiting the findings of the investigation.
Nketha’s concerned father Kwazikwakhe said he feared that he would die before seeing his son fulfil his potential as his career prospects continues to remain in limbo indefinitely.
“I am pleading with the department to make up its mind about what it wants to do about the results and if the pupils are guilty then they must be disciplined accordingly instead of just leaving them hanging,” suggested the father.
Nketha said the family celebrated when they saw Mthobisi's results in the paper but it was short lived.
“If the department suspected cheating, it should not have published the results, humiliating our children in that way. We even discussed the possibility of him going back to school.”