Empower youth through education in S.A

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.