Matric finals stir mixed emotions
Soweto pupils share fears and expectations
Nonhlanhla Mnguni is anxious about this year’s matric exams scheduled to start in the middle of next month.
The matric pupil from Soweto is worried because her school, Senaoane Secondary School, has not covered itself in glory in recent years with a low pass rate in matric exams.
The 20-year-old is one of thousands of Grade 12 pupils in Gauteng who are preparing for the exams.
“I don’t know what is it that we are doing wrong; our school’s pass rate is forever low. We are doing everything to prepare for the exams; we even attend special classes on Saturdays to catch up with the workload,” said Mnguni.
Other pupils in the township had mixed feelings about the finals.
Nompumelelo Ngubeni, 18, of Nghunghunyani High School, felt they still had a lot of work to do.
“We have had camps in March and July to help us prepare for the finals so it won’t be that difficult when we sit for the [year-end] exams,” Ngubeni said.
Hlengiwe Msipha, 19, of Emshukantambo Secondary School, said: “Some pupils still don’t have textbooks, which is a major problem for us. How are we expected to study if we don’t have textbooks,” she asked? “We still have a lot of work to do when we go on a camp from September 28 to October 2. I wish I can be excited about the exams, but I am very worried at this stage.”