A Medical Doctor in the making
Posted / 31 March 2021
2020 is a year many around the world wish to forget because of the COVID-19 pandemic that took so much from everyone. In the school setting, the pandemic forced learners and educators out of classrooms, disrupting the normal teaching and learning process, leaving many learners uncertain. With this back drop, Nokukhanya Ndlovu a learner from Mbambangwe High School in Kwa Zulu Natal(KZN), turned what was the worst Matric year to success with seven distinctions! “It was very difficult, studying needed self-discipline and creativity”, says Nokukhanya who was rewarded with a R20 000 cheque by a local political party in the province. Like her peers she struggled to makes sense of study material having been un able to attend school for as much as 40% of the year. The school, which was one of the high performing Columba schools in 2020, had an overall pass rate of 80%. In 2018, when Columba started working with Mbambangwe High, they set a goal to improve Grade 12 results from 44% to 100% by 2021. With the help of Columba’s leadership programme, the dedication of learners, and educators, the school is well on its way to achieving this. Columba Values Champion (VC) educator, Duduzile Ngema says this result was because of hard work and sacrifice from the educators to ensure that learners like Nokukhanya got the best results despite the circumstances. Classrooms were turned to temporal boarding spaces to accommodate learners who were struggling to study from home and educators also had to provide meals for those learners. Ngema says, “Even though COVID tried to disturb us, we worked very hard pushing them.”Nokukhanya says Whatsapp became a useful tool to communicate with educators about the study material. Nokukhanya is excited about her results as she will be able to live her dream, “I got five As and two Bs, which qualifies me to study Medicine at UKZN (University of Kwa Zulu Natal). It feels good!” Nokukhanya believes that only the sky is the limit. Her advice to the class of 2021 who are still confronted by studying under COVID-19 restrictions is, “Study as there is no educator to spoon feed you and believe in yourself and be creative.” Columba congratulates Nokukhanya and all the leaders who excelled despite all prevailing circumstances surrounding the 2020 academic year.