HELPING HAND: Vuyani Majola helps Sandisiwe High School Grade 11 pupil Onke Buyana access past examination papers using an online library, Paperight. Picture: SIBONGILE NGALWA
A QUALIFIED chemical engineer from Mdantsane has dedicated his time to helping matriculants improve their results and further their studies next year.
Vuyani Majola recently returned to his home town after his contract with Sasol ended.
He started an initiative called Education and Services Solution (EASS), which he runs from a container in Mdantsane, to help the youth prepare for exams. With a background in science and maths, Majola helps pupils come to grips with the “killer subjects” by having sessions and helping them access old exam papers for revision.
“When I came back I saw the need to help pupils who are struggling with mathematics, biology and science,” he said, adding that most schools in townships did not have enough material to assist pupils to prepare for their examinations.
“In former Model C schools, pupils have access to every material one needs and for township children, that is not the case. I provide pupils with study guides and they can also get previous years’ question papers using an internet-based library– Paperight,” Majola said.
The Daily Dispatch recently wrote about Paperight, a local Shuttleworth-funded print-on-demand service. Paperight founder Arthur Attwell was quoted as saying the textbooks issue was not the only problem facing South Africans, but that in some parts of the country pupils battled to get their hands on past exam papers.
He said studying past exam papers was a valuable part of revision and exam preparation for any pupil.
“The papers gave pupils an insight into what the forthcoming exam was likely to look like,” Attwell said.
There are currently five registered Paperight outlets in the Buffalo City Metro and about 15 in the Eastern Cape.
Majola said he started his NGO in April this year and registered with Paperight soon after. He said pupils from Sandisiwe, Loyiso and Mizamo high schools often visited his container in NU15 to print past exam papers and also look at available bursaries. The past exam papers are from 2008 until last year.
“Pupils only pay for printing out the papers but everything else is free,” he said.
Majola said his initiative not only helped current matrics but also previous pupils who had failed and then came to him for assistance. He has also helped pupils download bursary forms from other websites.
“Pupils need to understand that their matric certificate opens doors for them. Many pupils don’t get good marks because they do not have the right material and that also affects their chances of getting bursaries to study in universities,” Majola said.
Majola said his dream was to see all units of Mdantsane with a similar initiative to help those less fortunate access past exam papers and study guides. — poliswap@dispatch.co.za
