By Siqhamo Jama
A record number of young Makhandans will enter Rhodes University this year – almost 200.
GADRA Education manager Dr Ashley Westaway said the previous high was about 140.
“The VC was very excited when I told him that that number is almost 200 now. We’ve smashed [the previous record],” Westaway said.
“It’s the scale of it that makes it overwhelming and moving because then you think about 200 students well, that’s 200 families. The university is more accessible to the community than ever, and I sense that community goodwill towards the university is also higher than ever.”
Westaway said the number of local students entering the university was a massive breakthrough in repositioning Rhodes University as an institution of and for Makhanda.
Upon assuming office in 2015, Rhodes University Vice Chancellor Prof Sizwe Mabizela assembled a team of educational experts, NPOs and activists from within and outside the university who developed strategic interventions for systemic change in local education.
The numbers speak for themselves. A larger-than-ever cohort size of 720 local public school learners passed the matric exams in 2024. And the city’s Bachelor tally for 2024 was 377 – another record.
In 2020, only 540 local students wrote their final examinations, representing a 45% retention rate. In 2024, 883 learners wrote matric, representing a retention rate of 74%, way above the national average (62%). In other words, three of every four children enrolled for Grade 1 in 2013 wrote the NSC examinations last year – a giant leap forward.
Addressing the incoming first-years this year, Mabizela reinforced the importance of the opportunity given to local students: “You have been accepted at Rhodes University, not on a different standard than any other student. You have done well at school, and many of you were supported by GADRA. You must remain focused. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”
Two local matriculants, Laaiqah Elie and Lindsay Ceasar, are now Rhodes University students.
Laaiqah, a BCom accounting student, struggled with stress in her matric year but found new opportunities through the GADRA Matric School (GMS). GMS is a second-chance school for learners who seek to improve their marks in selected National Senior Certificate subjects to accumulate the required points to gain access to universities.
While her medical school dream did not pan out, her GMS experience opened doors to Rhodes. “Don’t settle for easy,” she advises.
Similarly, Lindsay, initially uncertain after a tough matric year, found direction through GMS and is now studying a Bachelor of Social Science, hoping to major in Management.
Her message to fellow students? “Keep Going, even when the path isn’t clear-it will find
you.”
