Maselesele Lalamani, a Matric Class of 2024 top achiever from Limpopo, said her difficult home situation where her unemployed mother sells snacks at her school to make ends meet, motivated her to study hard in the hope of changing her family’s situation.
Lalamani, a 17-year-old from the dusty streets of Thohoyandou, shared her story with IOL News at the ministerial breakfast held at the MTN Innovation Centre, in Fairland, Johannesburg, on Monday, January 13.
The event, hosted by Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube, alongside her Deputy Minister Dr Reginah Mhaule, honoured the top learners across the country for their hard work and dedication.
The breakfast came ahead of the highly anticipated matric results release, in the afternoon by Gwarube, which will show how the class performed compared to the Class of 2023, which achieved a pass rate of 82.9 %.
Lalamani, a learner from the Tshivhase Secondary school, said she was shocked when she received an email from the Department of Basic Education while playing music.
“I was just sitting down and listening to the song titled 'God Did' by Dj Khaled, and I was in shock,” she said.
“But I knew I had worked hard throughout the years; that’s why it was rewarding.”
Coming from a disadvantaged background, Lalamani saw her mother’s daily struggle as a street vendor was a constant reminder of her desire to change her family’s circumstances.
“I am coming from a poor background, especially in an area where finding employment is a challenge, I knew that I had to work harder as I didn’t want to see my mother struggle like this forever,” she told IOL News.
She said the food safety issues in recent months that affected the province and led to a ban of food sales around schools due to incidents of food poisoning, severely affected her family’s finances.
“My mother was putting food on the table with the money that she made from selling food and snacks, so it affected us very badly.”
Despite the challenges, Lalamani said she remained focused on her schoolwork.
“Education is the only way to change my home situation and turn it into something better than before.”
She went on to say that during her academic journey, she encountered challenges that had a negative impact on her studies, one of which was a shortage of study materials.
“The shortage of study material at our school had been a challenge, but I resorted to watching videos online to better understand the topics, even though we didn’t have reliable internet access at the school.”
Besides that, Lalamani's perseverance paid off with exceptional results, allowing her to grace the national stage as a top achiever.
“It feels like a dream. But I am so proud of myself, that I have managed to achieve this far,” she said.
“It was tough, but I kept pushing hard.”
Nonetheless, she advised the current matric class of 2025 to work hard despite coming from a poor background.
“Don’t let your home situation dictate your success. Hard work always yields excellent results. Don’t give into pressure of copying someone else's studying methods that she wakes up at midnight to study well, do what works for you,” she told IOL News.
Looking ahead, Lalamani said she plans to study astronomy at the University of Cape Town (UCT).
“I had hoped to study abroad, but I am excited to go to UCT, and hoping to work for the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA),” she said, smiling broadly.
IOL News