DURBAN - Matric pupil Phumlani Zuma from Nomathiya Technical High School, said he was delighted to be among the pupils honoured yesterday by Basic Minister Angie Motshekga for their performance in the 2020 Grade 12 class.
Zuma, who was awarded for his performance in Technical Science, said while most pupils suffered setbacks in their studies because of a long break caused by the national lockdown, he saw the Covid-19 lockdown as an opportunity to get ahead with his studies.
“The lockdown was a huge advantage for me. Most people saw the lockdown as a disadvantage. I took it as an advantage, I studied hard. You would have sworn that I had exams coming up.
“By the time we returned to school, I was ahead in most chapters. I am a person who can learn on his own and when we returned to class, I was just filling in the gaps that I did not understand while I was studying on my own,” he said.
He said he had applied to several universities and wants to further his studies and earn a qualification in Mechanical Engineering.
Zuma’s father, Sibusiso Zuma, said he was proud of his son’s performance, but most proud to see him transform from an average student to a top achiever.
“His grade 9 results were not great. I put him in a class where there were extra classes for maths students. The teachers told us that once his mathematics marks started to improve, all his other subjects would, and that is what happened.
“He had worked very hard. He even left home and went to rent a place close to his school because he feared that there might be distractions at home,” he said.
School principal Thulani Ndaba, said they were elated by Zuma’s performance, “This is the first time we are getting national recognition. In 2013, we had top performers, but they were at the provincial level.”
The Mercury