Matric Matrix 

Its that time of the year when students, their families and friends focus on discussions around the matriculation examination results. It may be a time for celebration for many, and may be a time for disappointment for others who fail.

Failue may bring sadness, lowered self-esteem, guilt, self-blame, anger, and a host of other negative emotions. One needs to address these emotions and work towards a mind-set change, otherwise despondency and depression may follow.

There are many reasons why a student may fail. These include absence or inadequate educational resources, lack of family support systems, financial constraints, absenteeism of teachers, poor teaching methods, large classes, and so forth. On an emotional level, students may face high anxiety, low motivation and aspiration, high parental expectations, and poor time management due to family chores. Of course we also need to understand that personal factors play a part in failure. Amongst these are not studying consistently, paying more time to social life than academic pursuit, engaging in harmful substance use, absenteeism and behaviour that detracts from paying attention and concentrating.

Students who fail must understand that our journey of life has unexpected challenges, failure may be one of them. It is better to rise up from a fall, even if we feel hopeless, rather than remaining on the ground. The public and media focus on matric exams may make it appear to be the one and only chance in life. This is not true. Like other obstacles that we face in life, we need to realise that there are always ways around an obstacle. All we need to do is commit to finding and following the solutions.

There are opportunities to remark scripts, write supplementary exams, repeat the matric exam, or follow a vocational/technical orientation at a college. Seek the free academic support that is available at your school such as printed guides and past exam papers. There are also TV and radio tutorials, and EduHub, a free app., or through private tuition.

Let us draw inspiration from the following quote:

“Failure should not be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.”

– Denis Waitley