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PUPIL BY DAY, WIFE AFTER SCHOOL HOURS

08/08/2022 15:38:00 Sithembile Hlatshwayo

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GILGAL – A pupil by day and a wife after school hours!

This is the story of 41-year-old Hlobsile Mabila, a pupil of Hlutse High School under Gilgal Constituency. Mabila will be sitting for her Junior Certificate (JC) external examination in November 2022. Through the support of her husband and family, Mabila was able to go back to school to pursue her dream of running her own preschool one day. This came after she missed the chance to go to school following the death of her mother and her father abandoning her, hence she faced financial struggles thereafter. At the age of 15, while doing Grade VI, Mabila was forced by circumstances to drop out of school. She missed the opportunity to read and write. After dropping out, Mabila eventually got married and had to support her husband to put food on the table. While some of the community members supported her decision to go back to school, others felt she was wasting her time. Above everything, Mabila is embraced and supported by the school and other learners.

Teacher

This publication paid a visit to Mabila on Friday at her school where she was called from class by the Deputy Head teacher, Mthunzi Gamedze, into his office where an interview was conducted. During the interview, Mabila stated that while trying to earn a living following her dropping out of school, she was faced with challenges because she could not read and write. She said her husband also paid for her lessons to be an equipped hairdresser before opening her own business in Manzini. According to Mabila, the hairdressing business did not bring much profit for her and she decided to buy and sell clothes from the Republic of South Africa.

While in South Africa with other hawkers, she said the women negotiated discounts with Asian businessmen in their shops and made it clear that it was their deal. Mabila said the women would tell her that she needed to negotiate for discounts on her own. “This gave me challenges as I could hardly say a word in English,” narrated Mabila. She said she was forced to buy at an undiscounted price and in the en d she did not make profit from the sales she made.

Meanwhile, she said at the age of 35 in 2017, through her husband’s support, she studied through the Sebenta Informal Education Programme and managed to write her Eswatini Primary Certificate (EPC) examination at Mkhuzweni Primary School. “I failed and had to repeat at Siphofaneni and I attained a Third Class pass,” she said. In 2020, she said she sought a place at Hlutse High School where she was welcomed by the head teacher. Mabila added that her dream was to one day own a preschool in the area as there was currently none. She said while pitching her idea, she was told that without education, she would not be able to achieve her dream. “This has pushed me to persevere in life, which is why I am now in class with children young enough to be mine.”

She said most of the learners respected her, especially because one way or the other, she was related to them. Mabila mentioned that she had to call other pupils to order by merely engaging them and explaining why she was at school to learn at her age and that she was as old as their parents. She said all teachers respected her and supported her vision. When questioned on her readiness to write the examination, Mabila said she would definitely pass. When reached for comment, the deputy head teacher stated that the school had a unique experience with Mabila. “This is a first special case I have experienced as a teacher,” Gamedze said.

He said Mabila was focused and put so much effort in her studies. “All I can say is that I also wish she succeeds in achieving her dream,” the deputy head teacher said. Gamedze said Mabila’s experience would go down in the history books. He said when she came to seek a place in Form I, she was attended to by him, adding that it was his first time coming across the symbols under the Sebenta programme. After consultation, Gamedze said they admitted Mabila.

Performance

He stated that her performance was average, adding that Mabila was a determined learner. The deputy head teacher said he had anticipated that Mabila would drop out after COVID-19, but since she was determined to learn, she stuck around. A community member, Ntombifuthi Gamedze, confirmed to have worked with Mabila, who was running a market in the area before enrolling in a formal school. Ntombifuthi stated that they first did not approve of Mabila’s idea to return to school and felt she was delaying progress in life. In time, she said following Mabila unpacking her vision, they did not stand on her way as one needed to be educated. She also stated that considering her background, they realised that she wanted to accomplish her dream, which was why she was persistent and enrolled in a formal school. Ntombifuthi said they understood the importance of education.