How KZN pupil beat the odds
Nkosi Ntulakabayise High School matric pupil Nomfundo Mthembu is the perfect example of how grit and steely determination can make someone beat the odds to triumph over adversity.
Sacrificing the comfort of her home for a rented back room just to be closer to school was not the only hardship the gutsy 18-yearold from Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-Natal endured. There were also hurtful allegations from her peers that she was using muti to achieve good grades.
But through her tireless efforts, Mthembu, pictured, secured a spot among the country’s 30 National Senior Certificate (NSC) top achievers with her second place on KwaZulu-Natal’s list of top-performing matrics.
KwaZulu-Natal’s top achiever, Olwethu Kuhlekonke Khumalo, hails from the rural Mandla Mthethwa High School.
The province has increased the number of matric national top achievers from 10 last year to 13 this year.
“I still can’t believe it, but I am confident that I am deserving because I put in the work and took responsibility for my own life,” Mthembu said.
She convinced her parents to rent a back room close to school so she could use the time she spent travelling on studying.
“Travelling was wasting my time and every second counted. School started at 6.30am and ended at 2.30pm. I would take a bit of time to rest and eat.
“When I was done with this, I’d go back to my books for four hours straight and that was my daily routine,” she said.
She also recalled how she was subjected to fellow pupils’ mockery that she excelled in her school work because she was “using muti”.
“Their comments broke my heart because I spent sleepless nights studying.
“This was while my peers thought I got good grades because teachers liked me or that I was using muti.”
But the unwavering support of her mother and her uncle gave her the strength to “ignore all the noise and focus on my future”.
“And now I am here today among the greatest,” said Mthembu, who has applied to study medicine at the University of Cape Town this year.
The national matric pass rate is up by 2.8% for 2023 from the 80.1% pass rate in 2022.