Durban - Soft-spoken Sabelo Zungu was overwhelmed with people wanting to take his picture and ask him questions about his success in the 2011 matric exams.
The 18-year-old, one of many invited to the Durban ICC for an event to honour top performing students, was accompanied by his aunt and principal.
He was one of the top five learners in the Umkhanyakude district in KwaZulu-Natal and studied at Isolesizwe High School.
Sabelo was orphaned when he was quite young and raised by his grandmother and aunt, Busisiwe Zungu.
The young man has done exceptionally well, especially in maths, and intends to study medicine at the University of KwaZulu-Natal this year.
He said hard work during the entire last year had paid off. "I am very happy with my results. I used to work very hard and took extras classes last year to achieve good results."
The youngster also made time to help his classmates who needed assistance with their studies.
Sabelo thanked his principal Bonginkosi Dumisa and teachers who played a massive role in his achievements.
Dumisa, who started his career in education in 1976, said he was proud of Sabelo because he knows the difficult circumstances the learner had to face throughout his life.
Dumisa also taught the boy's mother at some point, therefore making him well acquainted with the family.
Isolesizwe High School has achieved an 82% pass rate in 2011 and Dumisa said his staff worked throughout holidays and some weekends to help the learners prepare for the exams.
In his final year as principal, Dumisa is striving for a 100% pass rate for matrics in 2012.
Meanwhile, Elena Aiello - a learner who completed her matric at Durban Girls High - told BuaNews that consistency, balance and fun were key to her success.
Elena, who will move to Cape Town to study towards a Bachelor of Science degree, said she was delighted with her 8 As.
"I did lots of exercise, made time for long walks and ate chocolate to cope with the stress. It is important to have a routine and balance," said the young lady.
Proud mum Theresa Gordon said it was also important for parents not to add more stress on their children in their matric year. She created a suitable environment for studying and made sure there were fun activities during the year to help deal with the stress.
Fathima Rawat from Dundee High said for thousands of matriculants, 2011 was a tough and stressful year.
Rawat, filled with relief and joy, said she was looking forward to moving to Johannesburg to study BCom Law. She was most thrilled with her results in business and economics.
The department also celebrated ABET and special education needs learners at the event.
KZN Premier Zweli Mkhize during his address said this year, parents and communities must be empowered to understand the education needs of learners.
"We must identify and remove the key constraints to the provision of quality education... Education is the engine of the economy. Without quality education, there can be no socio-economic development in this province.
"We undertake to invest more information technology and technical equipment infrastructure such as laboratories and libraries to further equip learners to function in a knowledge economy as masters of information technology," said the premier.
This year, 127 056 learners enrolled for the NSC and 122 126 sat for the exam across the province.
A total of 83 201 learners have passed matric in the province, with 27 397 learners having obtained Bachelor degrees entry requirements.
The gap in the pass rates of male and female learners has narrowed since 1996. This year in KZN, the number of females who passed is higher than that of males, but the department feels there is room for improvement.
Only one district (Umkhanyakude) obtained a pass rate below 60%. At least four of the districts in the province attained pass rates in line with national levels.
There has been a decline in pass rates in maths and science, which is the trend nationally this year as well.
Results in terms of schools in the lower quintiles indicate that poorer institutions still perform inadequately.
Nkosinathi Sishi, head of the Education Department in KZN, said during a briefing that investigations would continue to help government to improve results.
However, some quintile one schools showed improvement, with all their registered learners passing the exams.
"This is demonstration of the fact that the interventions that have been introduced in the system have made a contribution to the improvement in conditions in these schools. However, more remains to be done to ensure that we improve quality in all our schools," said Sishi.
Sishi said all children, even those who were unsuccessful in these exams must realise they all they belong to South Africa and will be taken care off.
He said opportunities to write supplementary examinations were available, and the timetable has already been posted on the KZN Education Department website.
Sishi confirmed that the KZN plan of action for the 2012 academic year will be launched in the coming weeks.
