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Remarks by Premier on Matric Celebration

I want to thank you for the opportunity to interact with you, and share thoughts, as well as celebrate with you the exceptional achievement of a 71 year old Matriculant, Mrs Magdalena Klaase. To Mrs Magdalena Klaaste, I wish to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to you for what you represent in the world today, for your brilliant achievement and leadership in the promotion of the right to learn throughout the adult life.

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Your achievements in the realms of Leadership, Community Service, and Character are being honoured here today by this prestigious education society.

An honour such as this is a wonderful way for the community to recognize and celebrate the choices, and sometimes the sacrifices, you have made.

As Semetra C. Vanison’s said “I will reach for the stars no matter how hard it seems, and fly like a bird with the knowledge this journey brings.”

Well done to you for your exemplary and inspirational achievement because you have done us all proud.

For adults returning to learning it is not easy, as they have so many other commitments to fulfill whether it’s juggling a job or children. However, you did not allow anything to distract you from focusing on your goal.

This accomplishment clearly shows that you were driven by a strong sense of commitment, perseverance and extraordinary willpower to achieve your dream.

Your feat today has once more proven to us and the country that there is nothing impossible if you have set yourself tangible goals which you are determined to pursue at all cost.

This exceptional achievement should serve as an inspiration and encouragement to our youth and those who are also pursuing their dreams, that nothing is impossible.

Ladies and gentlemen, all citizens should have the opportunity to develop themselves throughout their life at whatever age, to acquire the knowledge and know-how to better pilot their life transition, to improve their quality of life, to develop their potential and to experience the joy of Learning.

In that perspective, no area of learning should be left behind. Our education system have created over the years an open and friendly public image of adult learning, an image that has made it possible for so many women and men to cross over the door of educational excellence.

Of course work-related education and training activities have a key role to play both for the economy and for the people searching to exercise their right to work. And we have policies and institutions and mechanisms to that end.

Generally, it has been proven that education also benefit and enhances ones health especially when you are an adult. Similarly, increased health literacy within a population makes it possible to maintain the quality of health care while reducing the time of medical visit.

We have also collected factual evidence on the improvement of school achievement of children through parental education and the direct effect of parent participation in general education: an effect being produced not only through the increased mentoring capacity of parents, but also by creating a positive image of education within the immediate family culture.

This is so true, because Mrs Klaase’s persistence to pursue the attainment of her Matric has motivated and convinced her children and grandchildren who wanted to drop out of school.

Ladies and Gentlemen, by supporting general education and making it accessible to all, we build an inclusive learning society which will yield results in all areas of activities, including the economy and the world of work. It is a concrete recognition of the human dignity and creativity of all woman and man, whatever the level of formal schooling.

I would also like to take this opportunity to urge all the candidates who were not successful in completing their Matric on the old syllabus, to effectively utilise the opportunity to complete their Senior Certificate.

I have reliably learnt that we have until 2014 to obtain the senior certificate based on the old curriculum. I am certain that these candidates will not miss this golden opportunity to improve their lives through education.

Let us all emulate the strength, wisdom and perseverance of Mrs Klaasgte who despite all the odds succeeded in completing her Matric.

In conclusion, I congratulate you for this honour. You are truly the best of the best. Enjoy yourself, and remember as Mother Teresa said, "Life is a promise; fulfil it."

I thank you

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