In PROTEC’s 40th anniversary year, the PROTEC branches’ Class of 2022 did the NPO proud with a 100% matric pass rate, an 83% bachelor pass rate, and 293 distinctions in total, averaging 1.4 distinctions per student.

PROTEC is a national NPO established by SA Institute of Civil Engineers in Soweto in 1982, which runs an educational support programme for disadvantaged youngsters with potential in maths and science to prepare them for successful STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) careers. Over the four decades since inception, PROTEC has seen more than 30 000 learners successfully pass through the PROTEC programme and become qualified professionals.

PROTEC’s eight branches – seven in KwaZulu-Natal and one in Mpumalanga – accommodated 203 matriculants from disadvantaged schools in 2022, and delivered the programme in a hybrid model incorporating tablets, virtual learning, and in-person sessions, all of which contributed significantly to the Class of 2022’s success.

Balan Moodley, CEO of PROTEC, says this result is particularly noteworthy because these 2022 matriculants experienced the full effects of the pandemic in their crucial Grade 10 and 11 years in 2020 and 2021, and embarked on their matric year under Covid conditions. “Our students, facilitators, and branch staff put in the hours, under often very trying conditions regarding connectivity and available devices, and came through victorious. We’re very proud of them.”

Moodley says the PROTEC programme is scalable, and is only limited by the amount of funding that comes in from the private sector. “It would be our privilege to support many more matriculants to achieve their full STEM potential and embark on desperately needed careers in engineering, sciences, medicine, and other related fields. We applaud the partners who do support us, demonstrating their confidence in our ability to deliver excellent results.”

*Matimba Manganyi, the Top PROTEC Learner for 2022, achieved 99% for Maths and 100% for Physical Sciences for which he received a Gauteng award for Physical Sciences

**Ntsako Maluleka achieved seven distinctions, 100% for Maths, and 98% for Physical Sciences, and she will be studying BSc Chemistry at Wits University this year

***Azandizibusiso Mbonambi received the ‘Top Achiever Award’ in the iLembe District in KZN

Other PROTEC branch highlights are:

• Three PROTEC branches achieved bachelor pass rates over 90% – Inanda (94%) and Tongaat (97%) in KZN, and Nelspruit (95%) in Mpumalanga
• PROTEC Tongaat’s top six learners achieved a total of 31 distinctions
• PROTEC Mandeni’s bachelor pass rate improved from 59% in 2021 to 80% in 2022
• PROTEC Umbogintwini’s bachelor pass rate improved from 41% in 2021 to 77% in 2022
• PROTEC Nelspruit’s top two matriculants are Kgomotso Khumalo and Lesego Khumalo (not related) from Jacob Mdluli Secondary School in Kabokweni, who each achieved five distinctions

PROTEC’s five projects also showed overall improvements on last year’s results, with some striking achievements. The projects are Altron Soweto (Gauteng), Altron Dimbaza (EC), Dedisa Motherwell (EC), Telkom Tshwane (Gauteng), and Telkom Port Elizabeth (EC).

PROTEC Altron Soweto is the Best Overall Performing PROTEC Programme of 2022 as the only PROTEC branch or project to achieve a pass rate and bachelor pass rate of 100%. The 27 students achieved a total of 45 distinctions, with three learners achieving five distinctions each: Nkosingiphile Ngwaqa from Fidelitas High in Diepkloof, Dingaan Manjate from Emshukantambo in Pimville, and Ntando Kumalo from Lofentse Girls in Orlando East.

The Telkom projects follow a different model to PROTEC’s and incorporate all students, rather than selecting those with an aptitude for maths and sciences, which is the traditional formula for PROTEC’s programme. PROTEC Telkom Tshwane accommodated 991 matriculants from 19 schools in the Garankuwa, Tshwane West district, of which 806 passed and 378 achieved a bachelor pass.

In addition to the strong showing by Telkom Tshwane in PROTEC’s top 10 learners, worth noting is Kegomoditswe Mokwele from Reitumetse Secondary School, who is Joint Top PROTEC English Learner. He achieved six distinctions, 88% for English and 94% for Mathematics and Physical Sciences, and is at the University of Cape Town studying for a BSc in Maths and Science.

Altron Dimbaza’s Asekhona Danster is also Joint Top English Learner in PROTEC, having achieved 88% in English and three distinctions.

PROTEC Dedisa Motherwell achieved a 100% pass rate and improved the bachelor pass rate from 47% in 2021 to 81% in 2022.

Moodley adds, “The innumerable unknowns and challenges facing these youngsters in disadvantaged communities and schools make their achievements that much more inspiring. I am sure statistics would show that by far the majority of the 2022 maths and sciences distinctions would have been achieved by students in the top 200 of a total of about 6 000 high schools in South Africa. PROTEC’s average bachelor pass rate for branches and projects excluding Telkom, which has a different curriculum to PROTEC’s, of 84% against the national average of 38% is an encouraging reflection of our commitment to deliver the best support, material, mentoring, and training of all learners in our programme.”

For more information on PROTEC, visit www.protec.org.za.

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