LIMPOPO’S SHINING STAR
TENACITY, COURAGE, DEDICATION PAY OFF
For the second year in a row, despite facing enormous challenges, Rivoni School for the Blind – the best public special school in the province – succeeded in producing matriculants who were in the top cohort. In 2016 the school yielded three pupils ranking among the top 20 best performers countrywide and in 2017 Thulani Tommy Shikwambani not only obtained his matric certificate but was also heralded as the top candidate in the special public schools category.
The special public schools category has stringent requirements: candidates have to attain a minimum of 900 aggregate marks from six best subjects (excluding Life Orientation). Strictly, only the cream of the crop make it.
The accolades do not stop there. Shikwambani obtained an impressive 282 marks out of 300 in Xitsonga Home Language, thereby out-performing other pupils from public and special schools by being one of the top candidates per subject. The category recognises candidates who obtained 80% and above in selected subjects.
Not only did Shikwambani have the deep personal satisfaction of knowing that his hard work had paid off, he also received a special award from the Limpopo MEC for Education, Ishmael Kgetjepe, in the form of a braille typewriter with a key corresponding to each of the six dots of the braille code.
“In this special category, I have chosen to recognise a special candidate who has defied all odds to perform excellently in the 2017 NSC examination. This candidate competed with candidates from special schools and public ordinary schools, and out-classed all of them by achieving the highest mark in Xitsonga Home Language”, Kgetjepe said.
Shikwambani’s achievements impressed Limpopo Premier Stanley Mathabatha to such a degree that he pledged to buy him a braille computer.
Conny Mabaso, dedicated principal of Rivoni School for the Blind, is justifiably proud of the performance demonstrated by the school, the learners and the teachers. We asked her to comment on Shikwambani’s remarkable successes.
“Thulani was very hard working from primary level right through to secondary. He is a very respectful learner who was able to communicate politely with all educators and staff members. As a school we are proud of his achievements as the best learner in public special schools in Limpopo and the best Xitsonga learner. He was able to share information with his fellow learners hence the school is proud to be the best public special school in the province.
“He was the president of LRC. We thank all staff members of Rivoni, Soutpansberg East Circuit, Vhembe District and Limpopo Province for the support to the school. To all our support structures we are grateful for their donations.”