Multiple distinctions for pupils who had to deal with noise and the constant interruptions of life in an informal settlement
Peter Luhanga
- Lukho Londile and Litha Mdunyelwa both studied in cramped shacks in informal settlements in Joe Slovo Park and Dunoon.
- Londile bagged seven distinctions, while Mdunyelwa earned five, placing both among the top learners at Sinenjongo High School.
- They pushed through noise, crime, late nights and transport struggles to excel at their studies.
In a shack too small for much more than a bed, Lukho Londile studied late into the night to prepare for his matric exams. His perseverance resulted in him achieving seven distinctions.
Londile, 18, grew up in Ekuphumuleni informal settlement in Joe Slovo Park near Milnerton, sharing a single-room shack with his mother and two sisters. The space offered no quiet corner, no study table, and little relief from the constant hum of the overcrowded settlement.
Joe Slovo Park is densely populated, bustling by day and noisy well into the night, particularly on weekends. Nights are seldom quiet and days are always loud and full of activity just outside the corrugated iron walls.
Shack fires are also a constant risk. Londile says the environment demanded adjustment rather than complaint, forcing him to shape his studying around instability and interruptions.
Most evenings, he waited until everyone else was asleep before opening his books. On school days, he stayed behind at Sinenjongo High School with a group of peers he helped organise, studying until 7pm.
He returned home shortly after, then began again, often working until midnight before waking at 6am to start the cycle again.
Determined to get distinctions
Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube unveiled the 2025 matric results on 12 January, and Londile discovered he was among the top learners at his school. He bagged distinctions in Xhosa Home Language, English First Additional Language, Mathematical Literacy, Life Orientation, Agricultural Sciences, Geography, and Life Sciences.
“The language subjects were a challenge for me, especially my home language and English, but I told myself I’ll get a distinction no matter what,” said Londile.
He said even after leaving school in the evenings, the journey home could be unsettling.
“The crime rate is very high and we were the ones locking up the school.” He said, that he and his study group would sometimes hear gunshots as they walked home.
But he said his teachers were supportive throughout the year.
His Agricultural Sciences teacher, Wilson Bope, described Londile as humble and hardworking, respectful and consistently engaged with his work.
Bope said Londile often sent questions late at night when he did not understand something and was frequently ahead of the syllabus, sometimes even ahead of the teacher.
With his matric achievement, Londile has been accepted to study for a Bachelor of Nursing at the University of the Western Cape (UWC).
He said he is the first in his family to pass matric and the first to go on to university.
His funding application with the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), he said, has been provisionally approved.
Motivated to help his mom
Another learner in the top five was Litha Mdunyelwa, 19, from Western Beach 4 informal settlement in Dunoon.
Mdunyelwa said he travelled to Sinenjongo High School by minibus taxi every day, with his mother giving him R50 to cover the trip, as fares increased at night.
He said there were times his mother had to borrow money from neighbours, and sometimes from his teachers, to cover his taxi fare.
But his efforts resulted distinctions in Xhosa Home Language, English First Additional Language, Life Orientation, Geography, and Life Sciences.
To get those results, he had to push through more than just the daily commute. Loud music from nearby Kwa BG shebeen blared into the night, while drunk people walked along Mnandi Street near his informal settlement.
At home, visitors often filled the two room shack just as he needed to study. When that happened, he would sleep first, then wake up around 11pm to study, sometimes working until 4am or 5am.
He said his drive to work hard came from watching his mother, a single parent, struggle every day to provide for her children, of which he is the youngest.
“I had motivation to get her [his mother] out of Dunoon. Get her out of the struggles and the high crime rate,” said Mdunyelwa.
He said he has been accepted to study for a Bachelor of Engineering Technology in Mining Engineering at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), with his funding approved by NSFAS.
His mother, Nonkululeko, 50, said she was relieved and proud of her son’s achievement.
“I am very happy. I thank God for helping me raise him. Bringing up a child in the conditions we live in is not easy,” she said.
Advice not taken
Sinenjongo High School principal Khuselwa Nopote said the school’s pass rate slipped by 1.7% this year, falling from 88.7% in 2024 to 87%.
Nopote said poor attendance and a lack of support from parents played a role.
“Our learners were not always disciplined when it came to attendance. Parents were not there to push them. We were fighting the battle alone,” she said.
She said pupils suffered when a non-profit that paid for part-time classes ran out of money. Parents were left to cover the costs themselves, but many could not afford it. The school, she said, could only continue paying for tutoring.
She said parents pushing their children into pure mathematics also hurt results. She said teachers warned that some learners were not coping and moved them into mathematical literacy, only for parents to complain to the Western Cape Education Department (WCED). The school was then told it had no right to make learners change subjects and the learners were sent back to pure mathematics. Their marks suffered badly.
“When I advise a learner, it’s not because I’m against them. It’s because I can see what they can handle, but parents force them into classes they’re not ready for,” she said. This year’s matric results showed gains nationally and in the Western Cape. The national pass rate rose to 88 percent, up from 87.3 percent in 2024. In the Western Cape, results also improved, with the provincial pass rate increasing from 86.6 percent last year to 88.2 percent.
