adminRobin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
“THE roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet” — Aristotle.
This is the story of three siblings from Sizinda suburb in Bulawayo who despite being underprivileged, find solace in excelling at school which is their only hope for a better tomorrow.
Jimuis, Tsepo and Precious Ndebele all sat for November 2017 Ordinary Level examinations and performed exceptionally well save for the fact that they have not collected their results as they all owe more than US$1 000 each at their schools.
Jimius who was at Gifford High School got 6As (English Language, History, Geography, SiNdebele, Mathematics, Biology), 4Bs (Integrated Science, Physics, Chemistry, Computer Studies) and a C in Additional Mathematics.
Tsepo and Precious who were both at Montrose Girls High School got 1A, 5Bs, 1C and 1A, 4Bs, 1C respectively.
Their mother and guardian Ms Sikhanyisiwe Ndebele was at pains to explain the trouble she has gone through in educating her children.
“They all have outstanding school fees, for them to complete their education at these schools I would beg for them to be allowed to attend lessons. They learnt all in the stream and sat for examinations in the same year so it was very difficult for me. Two wrote 11 subjects and the other sat for eight so getting the examination fees was also very difficult for me,” she said.
What became her worry when results were released is that she knew the potential that her children had and was confident that they had passed, at the same time she was aware that they were not going to get their results as they owed a lot of money. Jimius owes more than $1 400 while the girls owe over $1 000 each.
“I had no resources but I just gathered strength and went to the schools. For them to complete their schooling I had always been begging at the school so I went again and spoke to the school head for them to get results,” she said.
At Montrose she was told that they only would collect results upon payment of fees owed. She then made a payment plan of $100 each month of which she said she does not know where she will get it as she is unemployed.
Ms Ndebele said she was lucky to be given photocopies of result slips after she asked to use them to seek assistance to further their education.
“At Montrose I was then called to apply for a bursary the school had seen being advertised by a local beverages company. So we are currently waiting for results from the applications I made for Tsepo and Precious. It is for support for tuition for 2018/19 for Advanced levels.
After making the payment plans the school then agreed that the two girls start A-level a fortnight ago while they complete paying their school fees.
“I realised that keeping them at home could cause further challenges as they are girl children who may end up falling pregnant as they will be idle at home, that is why I fought for them to go back to school. It would be very painful to see them wasting their talent by getting pregnant this early, they have dreams that they wish to fulfil and I want to see them achieving that,” she said.
At Montrose Girls High they were also assisted with uniforms.
At Gifford she also told them of her plight over Jimius, but was also told to pay the outstanding fees first. However, the teachers who knew the young man’s potential decided to fight in his corner and also seek assistance on his behalf and facilitated that he gets a copy of his results to seek further assistance.
However, he was then told he could start A-level next term and he will be taking up Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry as he wants to be a medical doctor in future.
Asked on how these three children got to sit for examinations at the same time, Ms Ndebele explained that Jimius was her son, Precious is her older brother’s child while Tsepo is the last born in her family.
Ms Ndebele said her mother passed away in 2012 and her father is ill so she had to care for her young sister and niece.
She, however, acknowledged that her case was rare as the children all completed O-level with huge debts but were accepted at the schools.
“At one time I cried at Montrose Girls telling them that I had no resources to send them to school but wanted them to learn,” she said.
Ms Ndebele said she has another child who is sitting for her O-levels in November this year who is an achiever too.
“My other child is writing this year, she is a brilliant child as seen by her grades, she performs well at Ihlathi, and we managed to see her report this term as it was with the school because we had not paid schools fees. She is being assisted by her former primary school teacher at Mahlabezulu Primary who has been paying her fees bit by bit. She now owes a little,” she said.
She said she wants her children to achieve their dreams and give back to the community that assisted them in gaining an education.
“I do not want them to blame me for failing to realise their dreams that is why I push from all angles so that they go to school, they will one day also aid other children in predicaments like theirs because they have had first-hand experience of how it feels not to have resources,” she said.
The children said their wish is to clear their debts, complete their A-level and go to university.
Ms Ndebele has 10 dependants under her care living in her father’s modest Sizinda home.
“I have three children, the other three belong to my brother, one is my sister’s child, my younger sister and brother, my father and I. We all are unemployed,” she said.
She said she has managed to keep the family going by managing a small garden for her to feed her dependants and says the grace of God has kept them alive. When she gets excess she said she sells in order to buy bread for the family.
Whoever coined the statement “a woman is a beast of burden” had Ms Ndebele in mind.
However, she has a beacon that keeps her head high in the sky — her children and nieces who have taken education seriously and performed exceptionally well. @NyembeziMu
Online Reporter