Education South Africa Project #12421

Empower youth through education in S.A

by IkamvaYouth

Project Report | May 12, 2017
IkamvaYouth congratulates all alumni!

By Balisa Ntloko | Fundraising Coordinator

Sikelelwa (Masiphumelele alumnus) BA Honours

The months of April and May mark graduation season in the South African Higher Education calendar. IkamvaYouth is proud to see many of our alumni graduating from their respective tertiary institutions and making their way up the path to ultimately earning a dignified living. As many Ikamvanites graduate and make their mark by paying-it-forward (returning to volunteer as a tutor) in their homes and communities, this is an indication that our model has a remarkable impact.

Alumnus Sikelelwa, affectionately known as Siki has twice done us proud. The self professed enthusiastic and loving go-getter has yet again completed her second degree with flying colours. At the well attended graduation ceremony Siki was recently conferred a Bachelor of Honours in Anthropology (Distinction/Cum Laude) by the University of Western Cape. She is among a few black students that have been awarded their degrees Cum Laude in the history of her course.

Siki was part of the inaugural class of the Masiphumelele branch in 2009, she said being part of the IkamvaYouth programme “helped me grow academically and personally. Academically; with all those afternoon classes we had, and also the winter school; where we got the opportunity to meet people in the business sector telling us what we need to get obtain in order to get to University and the skills we need to learn in order to get to the workplace. Personally; I was able to talk in front of people, so I got a lot of confidence from Ikamva. Also making long and lasting friends from the people that we interacted with within Ikamva in Masi and other branches.”

Her rise above adversity is a story of resilience that motivates other Ikamvanites and other South African learners who come from similar backgrounds as herself. Having not done so well on her first attempt at completing her Grade 12 in 2011, she obtained a Diploma entry into college. Since her grades were not good enough to allow her to enrol at a traditional university Siki opted to take a gap year and work as a debt collector instead.

“I told myself that my life belongs in the University so I rewrote some subjects and got my B [Bachelor pass, which allows one entry into any university] and today I am proud that I am one of the best in my class. What I have learnt is that you do not need to be rich to get to University, there are many ways in which the school can support you financially and academically. Working hard pays off, we all know that school is not the best sometimes but we need to stay consistent and work hard and the school will notice you. English does not determine your intelligence; you do not have to be the best English speaker for you to excel in University. Ask, consult if you do not know, do not die in silence.”

From debt collector to making it to the dean’s list, Siki has gone on to fly the South African flag high overseas, when she received an opportunity to visit the United States as an exchange student during her studies. She has also received a Humphrey award for being the best consistent student in the Sociology/Anthropology department from first year till third year.

Next month, Siki will be in New Mexico presenting her Honours thesis.

Yearly the graduation season coincides with the release of the placement data for the previous year’s Matric cohort. IkamvaYouth is proud to report that we have managed to achieve an overall placement rate of 87%:

61% (175) of IkamvaYouth 2016 Matric students accessed tertiary education, learnerships or jobs in 2017.
51.43% of the total learners who wrote (285 learners) accessed tertiary education (58% of those who passed, 241 learners). These learners are currently pursuing careers in the following fields: 2.14% IT , 5% Education, 6.43% Health Sciences, 16.43% Engineering, 19.29% Finance and Entrepreneurship and 2.14% legal courses.
6% are enrolled in learnership programmes
6% are employed
26% are improving their matric results through supps/ upgrading programmes so are engaged in post school education and are not NEET.
And 13% are currently considered not in education, employment, or training (NEETs).

These commendable stats come in spite of startling national percentage of 47% of youth between the ages 21 and 24 who were deemed NEET at the beginning of the last quarter of 2016.

IkamvaYouth would never be able to achieve all of these results, without the continued support from our volunteers and donors. Thank you so much!

Lloyd (Chesterville): BSoc Sc (Psychology), UKZN

Ntebaleng (Ebony Park alumnus): BHons SocSci UCT

Olga (Makhaza): BCom (Information Systems), UWC

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Feb 9, 2017
IkamvaYouth's class of 2016 achieves an 85% matric

By Balisa Ntloko | Fundraising Coordinator

Ivory Park Ikamvites celebrate 100% pass rate

Ikamvanites began the New Year with a bang as our 2016 Matric cohort achieved remarkable school leaving results. 285 learners enrolled in IkamvaYouth’s after-school tutoring programmes in ten branches across five provinces have achieved an 85% pass rate; 69% of which are either Bachelor or Diploma passes, ensuring their eligibility for tertiary studies.

In South Africa, a major predictor of academic performance is the location of one’s school. When comparing results between leafy suburbs and tin-roofed townships, it appears that we have two different education systems operating in parallel. For most learners in township and rural schools, even reaching matric is a feat; only 58% of the grade 2s from 2006 made it to write matric last year, and so, as Nic Spaull explains, the actual pass mark for the matric cohort of 2016 is an abysmal 42%.

Unfortunately, the quality of one’s matric pass has a major bearing on the kinds of post-school opportunities one can access, and thus heavily influences an individual’s potential earning capacity.This is good news for the Ikamvanites who have managed to defy their context, and have leveraged the power of peer-to-peer learning and support to achieve great academic results. They’ve made an important step up the path towards earning a dignified living, and the organisation looks forward to reporting on the Class of 2016’s placements in a few months’ time.

“IkamvaYouth is especially proud of the Ivory Park branch, which achieved a 100% pass rate, and the branches in KZN (Chesterville and Umlazi), which hauled in an accumulative 41 subject distinctions”, says Programmes Manager Patrick. “It is because of such results that IkamvaYouth continues to assist township youths, against all odds! We remain determined to see many more township youths breaking the cycle of poverty through education. The challenges the learners face are many, but the desire for a dignified living continues to inspire Ikamvanites to take the future into their own hands through hard work, and peer to peer learning. Well done to the class of 2016!’’

Vuyolwethu, is one of our learners from of the Joza branch in the Eastern Cape. He achieved a Bachelor pass with 5 distinctions (in Maths, Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, Geography and Life Orientation). IkamvaYouth is proud to report that he is one of the top achieving learners in the district! Vuyolwethu cleared hurdles including a shortage of teachers at his school and financial instability at home, and is currently enrolled towards a BSc, majoring in Maths and Statistics at the Rhodes University.

The Ikamvanites are tutored and mentored by volunteers, who come from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. Most of the tutors are university students, and many are ex-learners from the programme, who pay-forward the help they received by supporting younger learners. Many of the volunteer mentors are professionals who assist grade 12 learners to figure out their post-school options, and assist with their applications. We look forward to welcoming members of the class of 2016 as volunteers this year.

Tanyaradzwa, the Chesterville branch’s top achiever, has since received a Moshal Scholarship and is pursuing a BCom Accounting degree. After receiving her results she said: “I am currently feeling relief and am very happy since I received my results; IkamvaYouth has been amazing; a combination of learning and fun. Being a part of this organisation has been awesome and I’ve learnt the importance of helping others and giving back.”

We are particularly proud of those learners who will be studying to become teachers. Thabisile, a top achiever from the Umlazi branch, achieved a Bachelor pass plans to pass on her love of education and learning. She is studying towards a B (Ed) and teaching Maths, Science and English to learners in grades seven to nine.

These great achievements are the result of years of hard work and strong collaborative partnerships. IkamvaYouth enrolls learners in grade 9 to 11, and works closely with the feeder schools, many other NGOs and CBOs, tertiary institutions, municipalities, Government departments, corporates and foundations.

“We are so proud of our learners and tutors, as well as the team behind them, and thank our donors for their ongoing support that enables results like these, year after year,” says Leigh, chairperson at IkamvaYouth.

Vuyolwethu received an award for top performance

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Nov 15, 2016
Celebrating our year with Year Beyond

By Balisa Ntloko | Fundraising Coordinator

Mphumezo shared on how the programme helped him

This week ended with a blast at the IkamvaYouth Gugulethu branch, as Intshukumo Secondary School learners saw their year’s commitment to the Year Beyond Programme bear some fruitful outcomes. During the festive prize-giving ceremony, which was made colourful by learners who took turns showing off their artistic talents on the stage, a total of 66 learners received certificates to acknowledge their participation in the Year Beyond Programme. Top prizes were also awarded to those learners who had shone outstandingly during the past year.

This year the Grade 8 and 9 learners from Intshukumo Secondary School were given an opportunity to sign up for the programme in 2017.

Four top learners from the two grades were awarded for their stellar performance in the following categories; Maths, English and Overall Achievements. The prize recipients of the day included; Nelson (who took home awards for overall learner in Grage 8, Maths and English), Mphumezo (Grade 9 overall learner and Maths), Zukiswa (English) and Inathi (English).

The Year Beyond Programme is a partnership between IkamvaYouth, the Western Cape Government and AVA. IkamvaYouth has been providing various services to the Year Beyond Programme since its inception in 2014, with the ultimate aim of replicating the academic impact that IkamvaYouth has achieved over the last 12 years through their award winning model of after-school tutoring and peer learning.

There is emerging research on the positive relationship between programme quality and outcomes of after-school programmes indicates that quality afterschool programmes share the following features: adequate physical and psychological safety of learners; effective management practices; appropriate supervision and structure; well-prepared staff; intentional programming with opportunities for autonomy and choice, and strong partnerships with stakeholders that play a critical role in learner development —that is, schools, other after-school programmes, and families.

Speaking on behalf of the learners who have graduated from the programme, Grade 9 overall achiever Mphumezo said, “…I am excellent in all subjects but I was not doing well in Maths before I joined the programme. I have learned to play with other people and work in a team. I learned how to communicate in English”.

While another learner, Zintle expressed gratitude to the tutors’ dedication and their efforts to help them better understand even the toughest subjects.

Volunteer tutor, Yandisa, had some words of wisdom to impart on the group. “In life you will meet many people who will tell you so many things, you need to be a sieve and filter out all the waste in your life to become what you want.” Aptly fitting IkamvaYouth’s motto – “The Future is in Our Hands”.

Yandisa motivates the learners

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