Johannesburg - A matriculant from a high school in Hillbrow and who dreams of studying medicine overseas, emphasises the importance of taking skills acquired outside South Africa and bringing them back to benefit the country.
Last year was a very different year for South Africa’s matrics who were taught face-to-face for their entire schooling but had to make the quick transition to online learning.
Lungile Ntshakalo from St Enda’s Secondary School in Hillbrow told The Star that she was initially excited for remote learning because she believed it would be easy, however once she got into the process she realised that remote learning required dedication and discipline.
Ntshakalo got a distinction in Geography and unfortunately missed distinctions in the rest of her subjects by 1 or 2%.
The matriculant said that in order to adapt to the situation she had to find extra resources to study and she had to dig within herself to find the discipline and dedication to stay focused.
“I have a single parent and I had to make sure that I spoke to her, communication was very important. I needed that support system because at school I relied on my educators,” she said.
Ntshakalo said that she was lucky that there were many teachers in her community and one educator who started doing extra classes with matrics.
“For the first time I understood the importance of a support system that will push you,” she said.
Last year also taught Ntshakalo the importance of having peers that can help and support her. She said it was different because she was usually a learner who kept to herself.
“This pandemic has been difficult but it has taught us skills and things that will push us to our greatest potential. That was another positive thing for it all,” she said.
The matriculant said that she was nervous about her final results and whether her family will be able to afford her tertiary education however she intends to pursue a medical degree because she enjoys biology and science.
“As someone who is very eager, hungry and zealous, I would love to go and study overseas but going overseas doesn’t mean I’ll stay there. I’m a person who believes that if you go outside your country to acquire a skill and knowledge, you should bring it back to your country,” she said.
Ntshakalo said she also applied at Wits University, the University of Cape Town, Nelson Mandela University and many tertiary institutions in KwaZulu-Natal.
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