This past Wednesday (January 17) Tshwane Executive Mayor, Solly Msimanga welcomed the city’s star matriculants of 2017, to the mayoral awards ceremony, in order to celebrate the excellent results produced by these young men and women during the 2017 National Senior Certificate examinations. Amongst them were some of our local learners like Taskeen Joosub of Central Islamic School (8 A’s), Sameeha Osman of Tshwane Muslim School (7 A’s), and Ummi Kulthum Moosa of Al-Asr (7 A’s). In his speech Mayor Msimanga said, “I take off my hat to you. You are an inspiration to many young men and women in the city and the country at large.
“As the city with the highest concentration of students in the country, we welcome all learners, many of whom have already descended on our city from last week and are going on to seek enrolment in our prestigious institutions of higher learning. The young people of our country at large, and those residing within the boundaries of the City of Tshwane in particular, continue to be confronted with socio-economic challenges during their transition into adulthood. As the City, we are committed to contributing to the realisation the right to further education (meaning Higher Education, and Technical and Vocational Education and Training) as enshrined in our Constitution.”
He added, “We congratulate all the other Grade 12 learners who wrote and passed the National Senior Certificate examinations throughout the country. The learners achieved a national pass rate of 75.1%, a 2.6% improvement from the 72.5% achieved in 2016.This represents a total of 401 435 candidates, who passed the 2017 NSC examinations. Gauteng Province achieved a pass rate of 85.1%, the same pass rate as in 2016, placing the province in second place!”
The mayor concluded by saying, “We are proud of our learners who give meaning to the city slogan 'Igniting Excellence'. The next chapter of your life is an exciting one and we wish you all the best in your future endeavours.”
Speaking to the Laudium Sun, Taskeen beamed, "I was truly honoured to have been invited to this event and even more so, to have been surrounded by so many admirable matriculants, my parents and my teachers." Ummi Kulthum added, "I felt a sense of fulfillment that all my hard work had paid off and most of all, I felt a deep sense of gratitude to the Almighty for granting me this opportunity. It was very exciting to meet the mayor of Tshwane. Overall, it was a wonderful experience.”
Mayor Msimanga presented each student in attendance with a gift of R5000 to put towards their future endeavors at institutions of higher learning.
At the mayoral awards ceremony, local top matriculants, Ummi Kulthum Moosa from Al Asr School, Sameeha Osman from Tshwane Muslim School and Taskeen Joosub from Central Islamic School, with Executive Mayor of Tshwane, Solly Msimanga.
Matric Stars
Samira Dos Santos Fanami 18, of CIS (not Al Asr as previously stated), of Barbara Coetzer Street, Erasmia, was also a top achiever, scoring 8 distinctions in English Home Language, Afrikaans First Additional Language, Arabic Second Additional Language, Life Orientation, Mathematics, Physical Sciences, Life Sciences and Accounting.
Samira said, “All I can say is Alhamdulillah for my achievements this year. I’d like to thank my mom for her constant support throughout my academic journey, my family and friends for always believing in me and helping me maintain a high morale during the challenging times. Lastly, I thank the teachers of CIS for dedicating hours upon hours of their lives, to ensuring that we excel this year.”
Muhsinah Moosa 18, of TMS (not Crawford College as previously stated), 5th Avenue, Laudium, scored 6 distinctions in Life Orientation, Afrikaans, Mathematics, Physical Sciences, Life Sciences and Accounting.
''I am grateful to the Almighty for my success as this would not have been possible without His infinite grace. I would also like to thank my family and teachers for their continuous encouragement and support throughout my schooling career. I intend on either studying Pharmacy at Medunsa or Dentistry at the University of Pretoria Insha Allah."