Matriculants are writing their final examinations for the first time in three years without Covid-19 regulations.
African Reporter spoke to learners at Kenneth Masekela Secondary School in Kwa-Thema and the school’s principal, Jabulani Fakude.
According to Fakude, Covid-19 affected the school’s performance a lot.
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“We were usually in the top 10 best-performing schools in the Ekurhuleni East District. However, that hasn’t been the case since Covid,” he said.
Fakude said the school usually performs above 70% average with a good track record of admission to bachelor’s degrees and distinctions.
“We are aiming for 100% but realistically we can achieve 90 to 95%. This is based on introducing strategies such as adding an eighth subject for all doing matric and having matric academic awards which boost the learners’ confidence,” he said.
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Fakude said having an eighth subject does not add pressure to the learners as it would work to their advantage.
“With the eighth subject, learners can fail two subjects but still pass their matric. It is not adding pressure, but adding responsibility,” he added.
Khulekani Nkabinde said, “Covid-19 brought pressure on us. Now it’s easier to write as we were taught and trained how to ignore the regulations during the June mid-year and the September preliminary exams.
“Out of the eight subjects that I’m doing, I am aiming to get at least four distinctions.”
Wandile Ndala said, “There’s a lot of pressure. I received two awards during the year and I’m also part of the 10 top achievers in the school. That has made teachers, learners and some parents have their eyes on me.
“I am aiming on getting six distinctions.”
Refiloe Mahlobo said, “Since Covid, it now feels good that there are no regulations.
“We can now attend school daily, which has assisted us as we now get the attention we need from our teachers. I am hoping to get at least five distinctions. After my matric, I want to get my LLB degree and be one of the best candidate attorneys while working on one day being a judge.”
The matric exams started on October 30 and learners will finish writing on December 7.
