UCT workers get back to exam room

AFTER years of working at UCT, helping others to complete their education, UCT ground staff members Arnold Wepenaar and Earl Delport were finally given the opportunity to complete their matric and change their futures.

Wepenaar, who works as a Jammie shuttle driver, and Delport, who works in maintenance, took part in a pilot General Education and Training Certificate (GETC) course at UCT and passed their Amended Senior Certificate with flying colours, bringing them a step closer to completing their matric.

The two said they were now planning to further their education.

“Life has given me an opportunity and I grabbed it with both hands. I got three As, a B and a C,” said Wepenaar

“Next year, when I finish my matric, I want those six As,” he said.

The shuttle driver left school in 1974, when he was at De Klip Secondary School in Lotus River.

Delport said it was strange returning to an exam room after 19 years.

“I’m doing so well with my maths. I can’t recall ever being good at maths in the past. But 19 years ago I didn’t have the mentality I have now. That teenager mentality makes you rebel against your parents. But I’ve learnt from those past mistakes” he said.

He is currently competing with his son, who is completing Grade 10, and said the experience had been a good way for them to bond. “I am definitely going to study further. Nothing is going to stop me,” said Delport

A total 30 UCT staff members enrolled for the GETC course last year.