CAPE TOWN - A Grade 12 pupil from Sizimisele Technical High School in Khayelitsha fears he won't be able to write his final examinations because he doesn’t have an Identity Document (ID).
Sinawe Mnyazi said he has never had an ID and a birth certificate his whole life.
He said this affected his life negatively because without an ID, he has been prevented from doing many important things.
“I was brought up by my grandmother, and she could not apply for a social grant for me, and we are struggling,” he said.
He said this resulted in him being teased by his peers because it is the same as someone who does not exist in South Africa.
He said he has also become violent as a form of dealing with the fact of not having an ID or birth certificate.
Mnyazi said his situation also affected his school work because this issue was on his mind constantly.
“This disturbed my schooling. I started failing because I would just be in class physically, and my mind would be somewhere else,” he said
He said his biggest fear is that he might not be able to write the final exams.
Mnyazi said this is stressful for him and his grandmother, who has been going from one department to another to try and get him an ID.
Department of Home Affairs spokesperson Siyabulela Qoza said Mnyazi visited their office on Thursday accompanied by his grandmother and school principal.
“The process for Late Registration of Birth was explained to them. They have indicated that they will return to our office this coming Tuesday to take forward the application process,” said Qoza.
Western Cape Department of Education (WCED) spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said undocumented matric pupils who are currently registered as full-time learners for the NSC qualification would not be disadvantaged by not being in possession of a valid ID document, passport or asylum seeker documents for exam purposes.
“The parents or guardians of these pupils must continue to resolve the issue of formal documentation. However, the pupil will be permitted to write the final examination and will be resulted for the examinations, even in the absence of these documents,” she said.
She said candidates write with their unique examination number, which is generated for them if they are a full-time pupil registered on the Centralised Education Management Information System (CEMIS). Then they will be registered.
Hammond confirmed that queries and confirmation on registration could be made via the school, who can engage with the department on the registration number. However, no pupil would be disadvantaged for this reason.
Weekend Argus