Youth Day 2020 – how much is different this year while approaching the centre of the Covid-19 storm?
One of our young neighbours in Masiphumelele, a township community south of Cape Town, is Sipho*, 22. Since he passed matric in 2017, he has been unemployed and with no income. More than a month ago, he applied for the R350 Covid-19 grant and is certainly eligible. He has received a confirmation via a friend’s cellphone that he is registered, but no grant has come through. Sipho is hungry and angry.
So far, healthcare-related workers on all levels – doctors, nurses, cleaners, meal providers and security – have been rightly named our frontline heroes and heroines in fighting Covid-19. Since the beginning of June, we have to add teachers and principals in the 25,000 schools in South Africa – of which 23,000 are public schools with more than 12 million learners. Around three million learners have returned to their schools now.
Principal Mncedi Nelson Mafrika returned and rebuilt Masi High against all odds: The pass rate increased every year and was 66.3% in 2019. No match for neighbouring Fish Hoek High at 98.3%, but still a remarkable improvement. The 157 learners for Grade 12 have returned since early June 2020.
Then, after many protests and toyi-toying, a miracle happened: 2006, the new Masiphumelele High School was built and opened for the first 700 students. Today, Masi High caters for 1,200 students and has 34 teachers. The matric pass rate became better each year, but community riots against drug dealers in 2015 also affected Masi High: The pass rate dropped to 48%.
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