‘Don’t kill yourself if you fail matric’, expert cautions
With learners receiving their Grade 12 matric results today, a youth and career mentor has cautioned young people to stay positive even if their results are not what they have expected. Dr Sanele Gamede has launched a campaign,’MatricUngazibulali’, which translates to ‘matric don’t kill yourself’. The message to matriculants is to accept the outcome of …
With learners receiving their Grade 12 matric results today, a youth and career mentor has cautioned young people to stay positive even if their results are not what they have expected.
Dr Sanele Gamede has launched a campaign,’MatricUngazibulali’, which translates to ‘matric don’t kill yourself’. The message to matriculants is to accept the outcome of the results.
The campaign seeks to motivate, educate, encourage and give hope to youngsters, especially Grade 12 learners who failed, and their parents.
The campaign was birthed through Gumede’s personal experience. He failed Grade 10, 11 and 12 twice and had to endure the disappointment of
repeating grades.
This taught him resilience as he now boasts a PhD in cultural and media studies. “Our message to the matriculants is that you don’t have to give-up or kill yourself if you fail. “We are here to mentor and guide you if you did not perform well,” he explained.
Also read: Help stop teen suicide!
Suicide warning signs include joking or talking about suicide, depression
and changes in personality.
Research showed that more than one in six had either thought about suicide or attempted suicide.
Gamede said that young people are under a lot of pressure to perform well and this comes with anxiety and depression. The initiative has established a support group on Facebook (#MatricUngazibulali Support Group) for those who might not cope with the news of failing matric.
The 2011 Youth Risk Behaviour Survey (YRBS) found that a quarter of Grade 8 to 11 learners in South Africa felt so hopeless after failing that they could not continue with their daily activities for two or more weeks. The research showed that more than one in six had either thought about suicide, made
plans to commit suicide or attempted it.
According to the South African Society of Psychiatrists (SASOP), up 20% of high school learners have tried to take their own lives. Almost one in ten
teenage deaths in South Africa every year are the result of suicide.
Some of the suicide warning signs include joking or talking about suicide, depression, preparing for death, changes in personality, self-blame and excessive feelings of guilt.
For help contact the suicide crisis line on 0800 567 567 or SADAG on 011 234 4837 or SASOP on 011 340 9000
