They spent several nights a week studying for their matric exams at a local shebeen in Khayelitsha because they had no place to go.
|||They spent several nights a week studying for their matric exams at a shebeen in Khayelitsha because they had nowhere to go.
And thanks to all their hard work, the four matriculants from Luhlaza High School can finally toast their success.
The Cape Times first reported on the foursome in 2010 after they had approached the owner of the shebeen, Mpumie Nxazonke, while they were preparing for their Grade 11 June exams.
They told her they needed a peaceful place to work and she allowed them to use her shebeen, Mpumie’s Place. This was where they continued to study until their final matric exam paper.
One of the pupils, Zuko Majuba, 19, said he was excited about passing his exams well enough to be accepted to study analytical chemistry at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT).
He said he could not study at home because it was overcrowded and the support he received from his family was not as strong as that of Nxazonke who always warned them about the dangers of dropping out of school.
Nxazonke’s daughter, Sikholiwe Nxazonke, who was part of the study group, achieved an A in life orientation. She thanked her mother for allowing them to use her tavern and for her constant support. She said the tavern closed early on weekdays to allow them to work.
On weekends, they would study at some of their teachers’ homes as studying at the school was not safe and was too noisy.
She attributed their success to academic support from their teachers and former Luhlaza High School pupils.
“I want to study building science at CPUT,” she said.
Another pupil, Mvakaliso Daka, said he could not wait to enrol for a BCom degree at the University of the Western Cape.
Despite having taken natural science subjects at high school, he said he wanted to be an accountant.
Mpumie Nxazonke said she was happy that all the group passed as she was worried that they might not do well.
“For the whole year I was nervous and keeping my fingers crossed that they pass their matric,” she said.
Earlier she said that when the pupils arrived for their study sessions, she would ask customers to leave so they could work in peace.
At the time she said: “I told the customers… I can’t chase away the kids. They were upset, but then they saw these girls coming in and out.”
Customers then banded together to raise funds to buy the pupils textbooks, she said. - Cape Times
E-mail Kwanele: kwanele.butana@inl.co.za