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The top achievers from the matric class of 2021 have been described as being in a “class of their own” by Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga.
The 33 learners from across the country were hosted to a breakfast by Motshekga and her deputy, Reginah Mhaule, at Houghton Hotel in Johannesburg on Thursday.
The former pupils, some of whom were flown to Johannesburg, were accompanied by their parents and/or caregivers.
Speaking at the breakfast, Motshekga said the class of 2021 had bested the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We need to understand and appreciate the magnitude of being a top learner in 2021. It is a class that really got the best of Covid. They were right in the middle of it. They did not have full Grade 11 in 2020 and here they were in 2021, having to write a paper that was set three years before Covid.”
Motshekga said:
The minister is going to announce the national matric pass rate on Thursday evening and pupils will get their individual results at their schools on Friday. The 33 top achievers will also find out on Thursday evening which subjects they performed well in and will also receive prizes.
“I really want to say to you thank God you made it. We made it! Thank God we are here, we have survived and now you are among the top learners in the country. Thank you very much for making us this proud,” Motshekga told the learners.
She said it was no small feat that out of more than 800 000 pupils who sat for the national senior certificate they came out on top.
Motshekga said the breakfast was an opportunity for the department to celebrate “the best of the best” in the education system.
“..We know that it is not child’s play to become a top learner in the largest public examination in the region. There is no system as big as ours in the SADC [Southern African Development Community], and to be a top learner in our system is a big achievement.”
She also used the opportunity to thank teachers and principals, whom she said sacrificed their holidays and weekends, and were at school teaching to try and compensate for lost time.
READ: Education system will not survive if pupils do not return to school full-time – Motshekga
She also thanked the parents and caregivers of the learners for supporting the children in difficult times, through worry that their children would be infected if they continued going to school.
She told the learners that their matric certificates were going to make them “smile forever”.
“You will even be proud to tell your children that: ‘When I was in matric I was among the top learners of matric and the minister of that year invited me to a breakfast.” It is a history that you are going to be proud of for the rest of your lives.”
Motshekga said:
She said the learners now carry the hopes, aspirations and future of the country.
“As you enter adulthood, you must espouse values of hard work, as you have demonstrated, of honesty, of integrity, humility and selflessness. We are saying to you march to victory and conquer. Become the best versions of the best that you are. To be top learners of the class of 2021, you are indeed the epitome of that success comes at a price.”
READ: Basic education department ordered to publish matric results
The pupils, Motshekga said, have “sent a profound message” to all South African children that even under difficult circumstances they can make it if they persevere, remain humble and disciplined, and have respect.
Provincial departments of education will on Friday also honour some of their top achievers, where the 33 pupils are likely to also appear.
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