The IkamvaYouth model has stood the test of time

By: Delphino Machikicho, District Manager, Western Cape

Beyond the statistics and the analysis of the academic performance of the Class of 2022, there are young people who preserved through a global pandemic, socioeconomic challenges and a skewed education system. When we celebrate the success of the Class of 2022, we should also applaud their resilience. The IkamvaYouth Western Cape region achieved an average pass rate of 79% which was a 9% decline from the previous year. We are still immensely proud of the 201 matriculants that wrote their final examination after navigating through a treacherous three years of their academic careers. 

Taking a broader view, IkamvaYouth plays a significant role in bridging the inequality gap in the South African education system. It is against this background that we work in under-resourced communities to help the youth to access sustainable livelihoods through quality education. This is directly in line with the National Development Plan objective that states; 

“By 2030, South Africans should have access to education and training of the highest quality, leading to significantly improved learners’ outcomes. The performance of South African learners in international standardised tests, should be comparable to the performance of learners from countries at a similar level of development, and with similar levels of access.”

Given this context, we have to acknowledge the work done by our volunteer tutors that sacrifice their time and skills to academically support our learners. Our tutors remain our unsung heroes as they always go beyond the call of duty to also inspire and motivate our learners to achieve against all odds. In addition, our branch leadership teams have developed an excellent operational strategy that has seen improved academic outcomes in recent years. As a region, we achieved 86% and 88% matric pass rates in the 2020 and 2021 cohorts, respectively. With the effectiveness of our programme, we saw an increase of over 30% in our enrollment rate in 2022. 

Our Kuyasa branch remains one of the most consistent branches in all the 17 IkamvaYouth branches achieving a stellar 95% pass rate after achieving 100% pass rates in the last two years. 75% of the learners had bachelor passes and all learners that passed are eligible for tertiary acceptance.

The continued growth of the Atlantis branch is also worth mentioning, as they achieved an 87% pass rate with only three learners falling short in the branch. Similarly, 83% of the learners were eligible for tertiary acceptance. This is exciting because the establishment of the branch was difficult because of the geographical location of Atlantis. The success of the Atlantis branch is a testament to the effectiveness of the IkamvaYouth model. 

We are proud of our regional top learner, Ngcukaitobi Kwanda who achieved an aggregate of 84.4% with five distinctions in English, Geography, Life Science, Life Orientation and Xhosa. He has been accepted to study Civil Engineering at the University of Cape Town. 

The impact of IkamvaYouth is perfectly narrated by Inganathi Mantyi one of our long-standing tutors at the Nyanga branch, “I have been part of the IkamvaYouth programme for nine years, I joined when I was in Grade 10 as a learner and I came back to tutor. I was motivated and inspired by my former tutors to come and give back to the program because it helped me a lot in discovering my true potential. I am currently enrolled at UWC doing my final year in B.Ed majoring in Maths and Science in the senior phase. I love being a tutor because I get to motivate and help learners to also discover their true potential and improve their marks. This helps to inspire underprivileged young people to become better and achieve their wildest dreams.

I understand the struggles of growing up in the township with no motivation around you as a resident of the Nyanga community, hence I made a decision at a young age to associate myself with spaces where I will continue to grow and be inspired. As tutors we have been practicing different strategies to improve the tutoring quality, one of them is grouping learners into the subjects that they need help so that it can be clear for tutors to work efficiently. Emphasis on peer-to-peer support for the learners is essential in building collaboration and allows learners to know their strengths and weaknesses. After sessions, we have debriefings as tutors to discuss ways to improve and continue delivering quality tutoring that is aligned with the objectives and growth.”

In conclusion, we congratulate all the 201 matriculants that wrote their National Senior Certificate in 2022. We will continue to walk this journey together with you, once an Ikamvanite always an Ikamvanite. We remain committed to working together with the Western Cape Education Department in providing quality education for all learners regardless of their area code. The IkamvaYouth model has stood the test of time and continues to yield quality results.

Hard work makes the dream work

By: Thandazo Jafta, District Manager, Eastern Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal

The year 2022 was one marked by transition and reinforcement of traditional methods of learning. This meant that learners had to buckle up as they were required to attend full sessions again. The KZN/EC matric class of 2022 has proven once again that despite the ever-shifting pieces, stability and success are still possible. The staff, volunteers, and learners worked exceptionally hard in the year 2022 and the results are but the fruit of the labor and investment made in the year. The KZN team achieved an overall 91% pass rate, while EC was able to finish the race at 93%, this is 8% and 16%, respectively, above the provincial pass rates. 

The Chesterville branch achieved a stellar 100% pass rate, with 69% of these learners obtaining Bachelor passes and 97% being eligible for tertiary. The tutors worked tirelessly and availed themselves selflessly, even after hours on the WhatsApp groups and on Saturday afternoons, providing academic support to the learners who, in turn, would sacrifice resting time to get assistance. This is what the Branch Coordinator had to say about these results: 

“We are proud to have attained these passes; the branch has had some challenges with placing alumni in the past two years and this gives us hope that it will be less complicated to place the learners that graduated from the programme in the year 2022.”

The Umlazi branch obtained an 81% pass rate, with 58% of the learners gaining eligibility for tertiary studies. One of the Umlazi branch Top achievers, Nelisiwe, obtained a Bachelor Pass with two distinctions in  Life Orientation and IsiZulu. Neliwsiwe joined the IY programme when she was a grade 10 learner, traveling a long distance from school just to get assistance from IkamvaYouth. She has consistently shown tremendous commitment to her studies through the years. This is what she had to say:

“I am so happy I finally completed my Matric. I have received an offer to study for a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Criminology at The University of Kwa-Zulu Natal. I have always been interested in investigating a crime scene, finally, my dream will come to life.”

Year after year, the Joza branch continues to show resilience and commitment to success in the presence of many challenges. The branch has over the years, struggled with basic resources such as constant water shortages, etc, yet, In the midst of this, the branch continues to thrive. The branch achieved an outstanding 93% pass rate, with 57% Bachelor passes and 89% of the learners meeting requirements to enter into tertiary education. This proves a successful model and promises the fulfilment of our mission of young people drawing each other out of poverty through education. This is what Mnyiwana, one of our 2022 matrics had to say to the upcoming matric learners: 

“IkamvaYouth contributed, offering study guides and access to past year papers. To the class of 2023; Focus more on your studies to achieve greater results and lastly look after your mental health.

Matric Class of 2022 – overcoming challenges

By: Ntombi Mahlangu, District Manager, North West and Gauteng

IkamvaYouth North West and Gauteng branches matric results, 2022

We are excited to announce the IkamvaYouth North West and Gauteng branches’ matric class of 2022 respectively, unlocking access to various post-matric opportunities.  Our North West branches, Mahikeng and Ikageng, achieved 89% pass rate with 51% tertiary eligibility. Gauteng branches: second time in 5 years Mamelodi took the lead with a stellar 100% pass rate and 61% eligibility for tertiary. Diepsloot branch achieved 97% pass rate and came through with a total of 40 distinctions, with 5 learners achieving distinctions in Mathematics; 61% of its class taking Pure Mathematics as a core subject of those who took it all 61% passed. While Ivory Park achieved 70% pass rate; Ebony Park achieved 80%, over a 10 year period this branch has maintained an average of between 80%-100% pass rate. The Matric class of 2022 have shown incredible tenacity and have worked exceptionally hard to overcome the challenges brought by COVID-19, sporadic riots in their locale as well as the national power outages.

Our Gauteng  and North West District Manager, Ntombi Mahlangu says that “It is through the work of our committed volunteer tutors that learners were supported in improving their grades. They implemented innovative methodologies to deliver tutoring lessons to bring in solutions for learners to deal with learning gaps and assisted them in applying for various bursaries and tertiary applications. We continue to be grateful for various institutions such as FAMSA, South African College of Applied Psychology, National Youth Development Outreach to name a few – as they provided psychosocial support, career guidance and life skills activities aimed at developing our learners’ cognitive capacities to problem solve and achieve goals.

A special mention must be made of Zinhle for achieving 6 distinctions in Accounting, Business Studies, Economics, Life Orientation, Mathematics, IsiZulu Home Language – she will be studying Bachelor of Accounting. Following the IkamvaYouth value, Zihle will return to the Diepsloot branch as a tutor to Paying-It-Forward.

We are delighted with the excellent performance of our learners, they have made us immensely proud!