SEVENTY-five class of 2015 matric top performers residing within uMfolozi Municipality became the lucky recipients of the municipality’s bursary awards on Friday.
The municipality’s matric excellence awards and community bursary handover was held at the municipal hall in KwaMbonambi.
Each student received R6 500 – an increase of R500 from the R6 000 awarded last year, with the best 10 ten students also receiving laptops.
Municipal Manager (MM) Khulumokwakhe Gamede said, ‘Through awarding these bursaries we want to improve the education of our youth, so they come back as skilled people and help the municipality improve the lives of its communities.’
The subject combination in most of the schools within the district was blamed as the reason why many of its students lack the necessary skills, places like the Richards Bay industrial area is in dire need of.
‘Many of our schools still provide pupils with poor subject choices,’ Gamede continued.
He further blamed the poor performance in many schools on the lack of commitment from the teachers and learners, which further entails the production of a poorly-skilled workforce.
‘We are gathered here to reward excellence, which we hope these young people will take with them to their respective future work places,’ he added.
‘To our awardees, I say go to university and get an education because the branch on which you are sitting will soon break,’ he concluded.
Congratulating the students, Mayor Cllr SW Mgenge said they must behave themselves well when they get to university.
‘To the boys, you must avoid running around with green beer bottles, and you girls must avoid having boyfriends and falling pregnant,’ warned Mgenge.
