Parental and peer support is key to helping the class of 2020 in dealing with their matric results.
This is according to the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG).
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga will announce the 2020 matric results later on Monday.
SADAG encourages parents and family members to be aware of warning signs in those learners who may not have received the exam results they expected.
Operations Director Cassey Chambers says the class of 2020 faced unprecedented learning circumstances amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
She says the support of parents is of paramount importance, especially with depression and suicide rates which have increased during the lockdown.
“Have a connected conversation with the matric learner, let them know that whatever the result might be, if they are disappointing, if they weren’t what they expected, let them know that it is okay and that there are options. 2020 was incredibly hard, during matric and the whole new world and writing exams and online learning for the first tie, you have to gentle on yourself aswell for these marks and these results.”
Meanwhile, non-governmental organisation Equal Education (EE) says disruptions to last year’s academic calendar has emphasized several inequality gaps in the sector.
EE’s Head of Research Hopolang Selebalo says: “We wish the best of luck to the 2020 matric cohort. We can only imagine the amount of work that teachers and learners had to pull off last year and it was such an incredibly disruptive year that amplified the inequalities that exist in our education system. To top it all off, matriculants had to cover their entire curriculum. Whatever small strides we were making around the exams, with the pass rate, those small wins we were making will now be reversed with the disruptions that COVID-19 has brought about.”
In the video below, mixed emotions from matric learners ahead of the results announcement:
