A top Grahamstown matriculant has 50000 reasons to smile after red-faced education department officials decided to reward her hard work with the same bursary they recently gave to the wrong student.Education department spokesman Loyiso Pulumani yesterday said they would be giving Mary Waters high school matriculant Shoalin Rademeyer a bursary worth R50000 a year for the duration of her first degree.
Although the 18-year-old got four distinctions and was the top student in the district from a historically disadvantaged school, Sinazo Madakana of Ntsika High School was wrongly awarded the prize by education department officials.
According to Pulumani, the muddle-up had been investigated by officials who found that Mary Waters had been mistakenly identified as a former model C school instead of one that was historically disadvantaged.
He said Madakana “as the next top learner” had been given the prize instead.
“The appropriate bursary and certificate shall be allocated to the affected learner and the due apology be made to the school, parents and the top learner.”
Pulumani added Madakana would get to keep the bursary she was mistakenly given. “The bursary will not be taken away from the Ntsika learner.” Attempts to track down Madakana yesterday proved fruitless.
A relieved Rademeyer however said she was happy that the Ntsika learner would get to keep her bursary too.
“It would be very unfair if they (education department) took it away from her. It would have made me very unhappy. I am sure she needs the bursary as much as I do.”
Already accepted into Rhodes University to study for a Bachelor of Arts, the talented teenager said her long-term goal was to study law.
Rademeyer’s father Sergio, who works at the local army base, yesterday said he was extremely happy that both students would now benefit.
“I have said from the very beginning that they must not take the bursary away from the other girl. It was not her mistake that it was given to her unknowingly.”
Mary Waters principal Faith Coetzee yesterday said she was happy Rademeyer was being recognised for her achievement. “I am just happy that the mistake is being corrected.”
Coetzee said she had been alerted to the mistake by the community and that when she phoned local education authorities they acted immediately.
“It is great motivation for the rest of the learners that the top student comes from our school.” — davidm@dispatch.co.za
New bursary for EC’s true top learner
Education department spokesman Loyiso Pulumani yesterday said they would be giving Mary Waters high school matriculant Shoalin Rademeyer a bursary worth R50000 a year for the duration of her first degree.
Although the 18-year-old got four distinctions and was the top student in the district from a historically disadvantaged school, Sinazo Madakana of Ntsika High School was wrongly awarded the prize by education department officials.
According to Pulumani, the muddle-up had been investigated by officials who found that Mary Waters had been mistakenly identified as a former model C school instead of one that was historically disadvantaged.
He said Madakana “as the next top learner” had been given the prize instead.
“The appropriate bursary and certificate shall be allocated to the affected learner and the due apology be made to the school, parents and the top learner.”
Pulumani added Madakana would get to keep the bursary she was mistakenly given. “The bursary will not be taken away from the Ntsika learner.” Attempts to track down Madakana yesterday proved fruitless.
A relieved Rademeyer however said she was happy that the Ntsika learner would get to keep her bursary too.
“It would be very unfair if they (education department) took it away from her. It would have made me very unhappy. I am sure she needs the bursary as much as I do.”
Already accepted into Rhodes University to study for a Bachelor of Arts, the talented teenager said her long-term goal was to study law.
Rademeyer’s father Sergio, who works at the local army base, yesterday said he was extremely happy that both students would now benefit.
“I have said from the very beginning that they must not take the bursary away from the other girl. It was not her mistake that it was given to her unknowingly.”
Mary Waters principal Faith Coetzee yesterday said she was happy Rademeyer was being recognised for her achievement. “I am just happy that the mistake is being corrected.”
Coetzee said she had been alerted to the mistake by the community and that when she phoned local education authorities they acted immediately.
“It is great motivation for the rest of the learners that the top student comes from our school.” — davidm@dispatch.co.za
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