Matric student Benedict Khobotle fought impossible odds for 12 years to earn his place at university

Last week, we saw the both the cavernous lows and astronomical highs of the matric journey, as our students got their results. One boy who can say he’s experienced both feelings throughout his educational career is Benedict Nafooh Khobotle.

We love to celebrate all successful South Africans here. But Benedict may have just raised the bar with his story. He didn’t just ace his matric results, but he did it in circumstances none of us would wish upon our worst enemy.

Wallacedene resident is top of the class

Khobotle is a resident of the Wallacedene settlement, in Kraaifontein (Cape Town). He lives with his mom, a singe parent who has been searching for work constantly, for as long as Benedict can remember. He also has an infant brother, who he has had to take care of whilst their mother is out.

Wallacedene itself is a hot spot for crime and gang violence, and is certainly not an enviroment conducive to learning. As if that wasn’t enough, the Khobotle’s house is right next to a shebeen. Loud music and other ‘distracting’ noise took a serious toll on when Benedict could study.

When the music died down towards midnight, the matric student would then hit the books. He’d usually arrive exhausted the next day to class, and could only rely on the school’s feeding programme to give him his one meal a day.

What were his matric results?

Despite all of this, Benedict rallied against his circumstances, and became the best performing student at his school in the June and September exams last year.

He passed the National Senior Certificate with 2 distinctions, an aggregate of 72%,
and obtained access to Bachelor’s degree study opportunity at a Higher Education institution. Thanks to his superhuman effort, the world is now his oyster.

Khobotle spoke to the media after being awarded the Special Minister’s Award for the 2017 school year. He stressed that, no matter where you find yourself, there is no excuse for giving up.

“One of my teachers let me stay at their place to help me study. But I’m only used to studying at night, so I did that whilst I was there for three weeks.”

“My advice is never give up. When you give up, you give your enemies the power to laugh at you. Keep trying your best. God will never give you a challenge without giving you a solution. Always been in the right state of mind, and make life-changing decisions.”

What next for Benedict Khobotle?

Benedict went on to say he’d like to see more social workers in schools, who can provide ‘one-on-one’ intervention to help combat drop-out rates, and teenage pregnancies. He also stated that he wants to study physics and maths further.

With everything you’ve achieved, Mr Khobotle, understanding the fabric of the universe should be a stroll in the park. Congratulations, young man!