The Steve Tshwete Local Municipality celebrated its top ten achievers for the 2020 academic year during the Mayoral Academic Awards held at Mayor’s Palour on Friday.
Four learners from Hoerskool Middelburg, Willem Kurpershoek, Stephan Erasmus, Shireen Putter and Francois Combrink achieved an average 96.3%, 90.9%, 90,6% and 90.1% respectively while Kayla Da Silva, Carla Kruger and Belita Prinsloo, all from HTS Middelburg, achieved 92.4%, 87.8% and 86.1% respectively.
Vivek Mohanlala from Steelcrest High, Bennedict Vilakazi from Phumelela Secondary and Lucky Mahlangu from Tshwenyane Secondary achieved 87.9%, 86.2% and 86% in consecutive order.
The municipality’s political head, Cllr Diphala Motsepe said he was moved by the determination, resilience and excellence displayed by the learners amid the Covid-19 challenges which disrupted the schooling year.
“The learners we are celebrating today remained optimistic, positive minded and focused and unfazed,” he said.
“They used every available methods to study at home and find ways to cope with the new normal, soldiered on and continued to rise like the proverbial Phoenix,” he said.
Even though the municipality experienced a drop in their overal pass rate average from 89% in 2019 to 84% in 2020, it still performed above the district’s average of 74.6%.
“There can be no doubt in everyone’s mind that the 2020 academic year has been an uphill battle for most learners,” Mayor Motsepe said. “This is however still remarkable and equally commendable as it is above the district average.”
The learners received sponsorship to study at the institution of their choice and also walked away with laptops and bags courtesy of Steve Tshwete Local Municipality and its stakeholders Arnot Opco, Rietvlei Mine and Tumelo Mine.
Calvin Mabusela, Steve Tshwete Circuit Manager, highlighted that Steve Tshwete results were lower compared to those of eMakhazeni municipality in Belfast, however he made commitment for improvement for 2021 academic year.
“Want to commit we will go back where we belong in 2021 but we will need support of the entire collective,” he said. “Iif we can have that kind of support, we will definitely go back there.”
Pieter Kurpershoek, represented his son Willem who received a trophy and a certificate of being a top performer, told this publication: “I am really grateful for being here representing my son. I am also thankful for the Steve Tshwete municipality for doing this which encourages learners to excell.”
Vivek Mohanlala who said he intends studying Chartered Accounting, said he studied under extremely difficult conditions. “It was very very difficult preparing for exams under Covid-19 as you know that schooling was disrupted but I had to do it. I think, under normal circumstances, I could have pushed to 90 percent,” he said.
Leave a comment
