ORANGE FARM. – A distinction in Mathematics has earned Princess Lefetsisang Malatji (17) from Orange Farm a coveted place to study a BEng. in Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) this year.

A former learner of Leshata Secondary School, Malatji confesses to having a tough and emotionally draining matric year, in 2022.

“When my Maths mark dropped halfway through the year, I kept doubting myself and thinking I wasn’t intelligent enough to make it.  I had to use everything I had to get back up and overcome my anxiety and self-doubt,” said Malatji.

Prayer and her family’s support as well as encouragement received from her older sister, who is a Civil Engineer, were very welcome.

“My sister was very supportive.  She was determined to make sure I succeeded,” she said.

Her advice for the matrics of 2023 is to start working from day one.

“Procrastination is just paving the way to failure”.

Malatji said that the free Engen Maths and Science School supplementary classes that she attended every Saturday from grade 10-12 provided her with crucial insights into Maths, Physical Sciences, and English which “really assisted me to reach my full potential.”

“The EMSS extra lessons exposed me to excellent teachers who revised concepts and we practiced past papers which were very helpful.”

Her hope for the future is to become the best version of herself.

The Engen Maths and Science Schools have run for over 35 years, and offer underprivileged grade 10-12 learners free supplementary Maths, Science, and English tuition on Saturdays at ten locations across South Africa.

Engen’s manager of Transformation and Stakeholder Engagement, Dr James Nyawera explained that the EMSS program focuses specifically on providing extra tuition in “gateway” subjects such as mathematics and science.

“These subjects are considered critical in addressing the country’s technical and engineering skills shortage as well as spurring economic growth and development. The EMSS program seeks to harness the potential of talented young people in difficult circumstances and to also contribute to the pool of scarce skills in the country” said Nyawera.

The EMSS program’s crucial role and relevance were highlighted after recent statistics from the Department of Basic Education (DBE) indicated that more learners are opting to write maths literacy, which increased by 108 642 learners between 2020 and 2022 compared to pure maths, which only increased by 36 419 learners over that time.

Pupils who passed pure Maths also dipped from 57.6% in 2021 to 55% in 2022.