The Zoutpansberg North Circuit held a successful excellence awards ceremony to honour teachers and pupils who performed well during the 2009 matric exams. The ceremony was held at the Makhado Multipurpose Centre at Dzanani last Saturday.
More than 30 teachers, excelling pupils and high-flying schools were honoured during the event. Zoutpansberg North Circuit achieved a 74.8% pass rate during the 2009 matric results.
Addressing the recipients and guests, well-known publisher and businessman Dr Nkhelebeni Phaswana said it was up to an individual learner to make it or fail in life. Phaswana, who is the head of the communications and linguistics department at the University of Venda, said learners should know what they wanted to be in life and should also take decisions that they would not regret later on in life.
He encouraged learners to make wise decisions in choosing their careers as this could come back to haunt them later in life. He urged learners to surround themselves with people who could help make a difference in their future lives as some bad relationships could divert them from their intended goals and lead them to things that they would regret.
It was during this ceremony that Eric Louw High School received the award for being number one in the circuit in terms of the 2009 matric performance. The school obtained a 99% pass rate during the 2009 matric exams.
The mayor of Musina Municipality, Cllr Caroline Mahasela, and the acting mayor of Makhado Municipality, Cllr Albert Muvhumbe, attended the occasion. Mahasela told the current Grade 12 learners, who also attended the event, to take education seriously.
Masereni Secondary School received an award for the school which improved the most during the past year - from a 23.4% pass rate to 63.5%. Mopani Intermediate School was also awarded the best school performance award – the school obtained a 91.6% pass during the 2009 matric exams.
The circuit manager of Zoutpansberg North, Dr Ntavhanyeni Phaswana, said he was pleased with the commitment shown by pupils and teachers. He urged them to work extra hard in order to improve the circuit’s standing in this year’s results. “It is up to you to make us proud at the end of the year. Only hard work will make you achieve the best in life,” he said.