A responsible old lady has gone back to school at the age of 67!
Elizabeth Mushaisano Mabotha of Khubvi village, near Thohoyandou, said she did not get a chance to go to school when she was young, because her main task was to look after the goats. “Adults used to tell us that we would go crazy if we took education seriously. We hated education and believed that those who went to school were outcasts. I have now realized the importance of education and that is why I decided to go back to school. Age is just a number and the important thing is that I fulfil my dreams while I’m still alive.”
Elizabeth is one of the 103 829 Limpopo adult participants of Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign who registered during the 2009/10 financial year. She attends school in one of the 18 centres established at the village.
Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign was launched by the government in February 2008 with the aim of enabling 4, 7 million adults above the age of 15 to become literate and numerate in one of the 11 official languages, halving the country’s illiteracy rates by 2015 with an allocation of R430m. The campaign enables adult learners to read, write and calculate in their mother tongue, in line with the unit standards for Adult Basic Education Level 1 and it is available at no cost to adults who have little or no education at all.
With joy written all over her face, Elizabeth says she is happy to go back to school and encourages other adults to do so. “This government is doing its best to improve the lives of the citizens of this country and we definitely have to take advantage of that. I am very glad to be part of this campaign because the importance of education does not need a guest speaker to emphasize – it is given. Education brings light, joy, and wealth. I also call upon the youth to go to school when they still have time, so that they can be responsible future leaders of this country.”
She says she is now able to read and write since she started her classes in April last year. “People used to take advantage of me because I could not read and write. Life has now become easier for me. At first, I did not have any privacy because I had to ask people to read important information to me. I have learnt a lot of things and I can also greet you in English. I therefore call on other senior citizens like myself to take matters upon themselves and go back to school.”
Elizabeth intends to move a step further from Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign to ABET and will then complete her primary schooling. “I will learn as much as possible as long as I live. This is a lifetime opportunity and I will grasp it with both hands, no matter what happens.”