Gwarube heaps praise on SA's top matric achievers

Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube has heaped praise on the country’s top matric achievers.

Speaking in Johannesburg on Monday morning at the National Senior Certificate (NSC) top achievers breakfast and award ceremony, she said true excellence is not just about top academic results, but about perseverance.

Forty learners from various schools in the country are being honoured.

ALSO READ: DBE to release NSC exam results

Gwarube congratulated the group of matriculants for their hard work, saying they are the pride of the nation.

She added that their achievements are a result of hard work and perseverance.

Gwarube referred to Greek mythology to describe their efforts and sacrifice.

“There is an ancient story from Greek mythology about a man condemned by Zeus to push a heavy boulder up a steep hill. Each time he reached the top, the boulder would roll back down, and he would have to begin again. For many years, I believe this story has been misunderstood. It is often told as a tragedy, a tale of endless suffering and futility.

I don't believe that necessarily that that man was unhappy. I believe he found meaning and even joy in the pursuit itself. In striving, in the discipline of showing up every day to push the boulder forward and upward, knowing that the climb mattered, even when the summit did not last.

Because in the pursuit of excellence, in the acts of giving your best, there's dignity and there's purpose and yes, there's happiness. And so that's why the story for me matters today because every learner, all of you that we are celebrating this morning knows something about pushing a boulder up a hill, about late nights, early morning, setbacks, the pressure, self-doubt, the quiet decision again and again to keep going."

More than 900,000 Grade 12 candidates sat to write the NSC exams.

Minister Gwarube will announce the official results of the class of 2025 final exams later on Monday.