Extra effort adds up for the Eastern Cape’s top matrics

Take the following example:

Having taken part in various initiatives to strengthen their marks in the key subjects of mathematics and accounting, the Eastern Cape’s top matric learners – including its top provincial achievers Reamohetse Mofitiso and Mphoentle Piliso –proved that a little bit of additional effort goes a long way towards achieving your dreams.

Over the past 15 years, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), has taken decisive action on behalf of the accounting profession to contribute to improving education in the country—especially where the subjects of mathematics and accounting are concerned.

After investing countless hours and resources to organise and host initiatives such as the annual maths development camps and the annual Accounting Olympiads, it was with great excitement that SAICA’s Thuthuka Education Upliftment Fund (TEUF) team awaited the 2017 matric results announcement.

‘We are extremely proud of the amazing achievement of the Eastern Cape’s top performing matriculants who took part in our SAICA initiatives,’ says Gugu Makhanya, SAICA’s Senior Executive: Transformation and Growth. ‘This is especially true of the 21 matrics who achieved Bachelor passes with five distinctions or more and participated in our provincial maths development camps, the Accounting Olympiad, or both. Together, these learners brought in a massive haul of 134 distinctions.’

And there is even more reason to celebrate, adds Bulelani Magajana, SAICA Project Manager for the Eastern Cape:

‘In addition to the excellent collective performance, two individuals stand out for being among the top 25 matric pupils of 2017:

Reamohetse Mofitiso from Lehana Senior Secondary School in Mount Fletcher (seven distinctions), is not only the top achiever in quintile 1 for the province, but also the country; and

Mphoentle Piliso from Cofimvaba Senior School who (7 distinctions), is the province’s third-best performer and the second-best performer in quintile 3 in the country.’

Mofitiso has chosen to pursue actuarial science at the University of Cape Town (UCT), and Piliso has applied to study medicine at the same institution.

According to Makhanya, improved matric results like these are one of the reasons why the SAICA passionately encourages learners to do well in mathematics—the gateway subject needed to pursue careers in fields such as medicine, engineering, science and accounting.

‘Education support initiatives like TEUF play a crucial role in developing, encouraging and supporting African and coloured learners in their efforts to enter scarce-skills professions like chartered accountancy. Results like these confirm just how valuable the contribution SAICA and the profession is making to ensure this happens,’ concludes Makhanya.

The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), South Africa’s pre-eminent accountancy body, is widely recognised as one of the world’s leading accounting institutes. The Institute provides a wide range of support services to more than 40 000 members who are chartered accountants [CAs(SA)] and hold positions as CEOs, MDs, board directors, business owners, chief financial officers, auditors and leaders in their spheres of business operation. Most of these members operate in commerce and industry, and play a significant role in the nation’s highly dynamic business sector and economic development.

One of SAICA’s prime goals is to contribute towards strengthening the country’s economy by playing a significant and leading role in transformation and skills development. The Thuthuka Education Upliftment Project, a pioneering initiative to promote transformation in the profession, was launched in the Eastern Cape in 2002 and has grown into a national project. Thuthuka’s objective is to transform the demographics of the profession to reflect those of the country in terms of race and gender, and provide educational support to African learners and students for the benefit of the profession, while simultaneously helping to uplift communities. Therefore, SAICA prides itself in leading the chartered accountancy profession as a socially responsible driver of business and skills development by supporting and encouraging enterprise development initiatives.

Ms Karin Iten
Project Manager: Marketing and Communications
SAICA Nation Building Division
Tel: ‪011 621 6913
Email: ***@saica.co.za

Ms Nwabisa Tsengiwe
Senior Executive: Marketing, Communication and PR
SAICA Nation Building Division
Tel: ‪011 621 6878
Email: ***@saica.co.za