South Africa has, and rightfully so, given herself the proverbial pat on the back for the class of 2024’s matric results. It was no mean feat for a cohort whose first year in high school was rudely disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the rest of their march to matric was under the trying circumstances of the post-Covid era.
The 12-year journey that pupils have to traverse is always unique, always presenting different challenges for each group and it is always an effort worth of praise when a cohort clears that final hurdle.
The beaming faces of the top achievers the nation witnessed this past week should indeed be celebrated while being mindful of those who tripped and fell and those who just made it across the line.
Often in the festivities, little attention is paid to those who probably need it the most, as they might feel useless. Words of advice and comfort are that we are with you in your pain and indeed this is not the end of the world.
The worth of any person is not measured in their falls and fails but in how they pick themselves up and look forward with positivity to the future. Not all is lost.
There are also many other avenues that can be explored, leading to a brighter tomorrow and success in life.
Sunday World has noted with concern reports warning of a crisis in the making as the unintended reality of the record matric pass rate came to the fore. The record-shattering exploits of the class of 2024 also present a headache: there is not enough room in the inn to accommodate all of the matriculants who passed with varsity entrance marks.
Precisely 337 158 of the 800 000 or so pupils who sat for the matric exams obtained bachelor passes, meaning they are good enough for admission to any of the 26 South African universities, which unfortunately can take only 202 000 first-year students. It means well over 135 000 have to find alternatives to the dream of university admission to pursue their dreams.
A lived reality in this country is that the economy is not growing fast enough to absorb the hundreds of thousands churned out by schools and institutions of higher learning every year.
The tale of varsity graduates swelling the vast army of the unemployed is well documented. The question remains: What are we doing about it? And is whatever we are doing, as government, business, and ordinary people, enough to leave even a slight dent in the rate of growing unemployment? It is like a gunpowder keg waiting just for a spark.
Part of the solution, we reckon, should be the trumpeting of the virtues of the alternative route we touched on earlier.
We are not selling T-VET colleges enough as a viable avenue for matriculants to consider.
The stigma of the poor cousin that is draped on such colleges is unfair.
Our economy and future economic growth, need artisans such as plumbers, bricklayers, mechanics and many other trades that are in short supply.
We also join the chorus to congratulate all matriculants and encourage those who fell at the hurdle to pick themselves up and have another go at life.
