Angie tells pupils to adjust study schedules
Take a rest when loadshedding hits – minister
Education minister Angie Motshekga, who launched the start of the matric exams in Tshwane yesterday, said matric pupils would have to “work around” loadshedding should they be affected by power cuts.
“With loadshedding our lives get disrupted and we work around it. When there is loadshedding, we even plan and cook earlier and it goes the same for them [pupils].
“They will have to monitor the timetable [loadshedding schedule]. When the two hours of loadshedding come, they must rest and, when the light comes back, they must study.
“We don’t want them to emphasise the challenges because they have been faced with many challenges. They have to accept the situation and work around it and do their best,” said Motshekga.
“When the Covid-19 came in 2020 this group [of matrics] was in grade 10 and last year they had a whole year of rotational learning. They were hit hard and we had to put measures in place for time lost.”
Motshekga was speaking yesterday at the Nellmapius Secondary School in Tshwane where she and Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi were monitoring the start of the National Senior Certificate examination.
Close to 900,000 pupils sat for their exams yesterday.
Zak Ledisha, 18, told Sowetan that loadshedding has been the biggest challenge faced by many of his peers.
He said he has been studying with a candle at night. “I can’t study during the day because there is a lot of noise. I prefer to study at night.
“We have been part of study groups which helped us a lot. I am grateful to all the people who have been supporting us, our families, friends and relatives who are still praying for us to this day,” said Ledisha.
Fezile Shabalala, 17, said her school was one of the first to open early on January 3.
Their teachers also assisted them and created extra classes on weekends.
Lesufi thanked the class of 2022 for not giving up on their studies. “From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you all for the fact that you are all here today. You are at the doorstep of a better South Africa,” said Lesufi, who was MEC for education before becoming Gauteng premier.