We are thrilled to announce that Bulungula College has achieved an outstanding 98% Matric pass rate for 2024, with incredible results across all subjects:
- English: 100%
- Mathematics: 100%
- IsiXhosa: 100%
- Life Orientation: 100%
- Business Studies: 100%
- Physical Science: 93.3%
- Agricultural Science: 98%
- Life Science: 91.8%
- Mathematical Literacy: 90.6%
Our region, the Elliotdale Circuit Management Centre (CMC), also achieved an impressive 87% Matric pass rate, matching the national pass rate—the highest in South Africa’s history. Echoing Minister Gwarube, excellence is possible despite circumstance, and we are honoured to be part of this milestone. Quality is contagious!
This achievement reflects the dedication of our learners, the unwavering support of their families, and the tireless passion of our educators, staff and school governing body. This result is more than a number—it is the culmination of a long journey to transform access to quality education in our community.
Before 2019, there was no high school in our community, the Xhorha Mouth Administrative Area. This was the lingering legacy of Apartheid-era policies, which intentionally limited access to education for Black South Africans. Learners in our community could only attend school up to Grade 9. Those who wanted to continue their education had to “gxamesa”: leave their homes, rent accommodation far from their families, and navigate high school alone as vulnerable teenagers—typically the first in their families to do so. Most families, already struggling with the challenges of poverty and unemployment, couldn’t afford these additional costs. As a result, most learners dropped out after grade 9.
Data we collected in 2015 found that 95% of learners from our area never completed Grade 12. This situation was nothing short of a crisis in our community, one of the poorest in the country, with a 93% local unemployment rate.
Bulungula Incubator responded by establishing the Bulungula College in 2019, the first high school in our area. As a free, zero-fee independent high school, the concept was not just novel but entirely unheard of in our region. Stories of fake schools in South Africa fueled distrust, and many people in our community were sceptical and unsure whether the Bulungula College was legitimate.
Recruiting learners was a significant challenge for us at the beginning. When we opened our doors, we struggled to fill our classrooms; some learners even walked out on the first day. Many followed and left throughout the year. Convincing parents and learners to take a chance on this new institution required relentless effort.
For the first two years, we worked tirelessly to prove ourselves. By 2021, when our first Matric class graduated, the tide started to turn. The school gained recognition, but our 100% Matric pass rate in 2022 solidified our reputation. Parents and learners began to see Bulungula College as a legitimate, high-quality school. We were inundated with applications to enrol at our school.
In just four classes, Bulungula College has graduated 147 learners, the most Matric graduates in our community’s history, and continues to lead our region as the top-performing school for the third consecutive year. As we celebrate our 98% pass rate and the achievements of our learners, we reflect on how far we’ve come as a school, a community, and a country.
The transformative power of Bulungula College is exemplified by Zolile Dyubhele, a 2024 Matric graduate who achieved an impressive six distinctions. Identified as a gifted learner at just five years old at our Jujurha Early Childhood Development Centre, Zolile was chosen to be part of our Vulindlela Scholarship Programme. He attended private primary schools in Mthatha, excelling academically and creatively as a talented artist and performer.
In 2022, Zolile returned home to start Grade 10 at Bulungula College, where he continued to excel academically. His parents, both employees of the Bulungula Incubator, take immense pride in his achievements. His father, Lindile, understands the life-changing impact of access to education firsthand.
Lindile was the first in his family and the first male in Nqileni Village to graduate high school. He recalls walking 24 kilometres daily to pursue his education for grades 10 and 11 and renting for his final year. “When I meet old friends, they often say they wish Bulungula College had existed in our time. I was the only one from our junior school who ended up graduating from high school. For my son to have this opportunity means the world to me.”
Lindile’s story highlights the challenges of first-generation Matriculants and the profound difference accessible, quality education makes. Seeing his son succeed within our community is both a personal triumph and a testament to education’s power to transform lives and break generational barriers.
We remain committed to providing life-changing opportunities through education in our community. We believe that educated and well-cared-for children will carry families out of poverty and contribute to a thriving South Africa in the future.
