Company Announcement - At the Engen Maths and Science School Awards for Cala, which were held at Cala Social Centre on 20th February, top honours was awarded to a remarkable young man, Athenkozi Ntoyise. “Reach for the stars and you can achieve your dreams. Do not give up. Work hard and you can find a way to better things.” Athenkosi Ntoyise is a man of his word. He has aspired to a better life through unflinching determination and an attitude that has earned him the admiration of his teachers and peers.

As a graduate of the Engen Maths & Science Schools programme at Cala in the rural Eastern Cape, and a former Cala High School pupil, Ntoyise achieved distinctions in Maths and Science in 2015, and a place to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Cape Town in 2016. Given that Athenkosi is severely visually impaired and that he hails from an under-resourced and economically challenged area, his accomplishments are even more powerful. He is a firm supporter of the EMSS programme and attended its Saturday classes every week from Grade 11, leveraging the resources and support to further his academic ideals. “I love the EMSS programme. They gave me everything I needed. It is extremely helpful, particularly for learners living in rural areas.  It is way towards a better life. I really believe that if you believe and work towards your dreams, anything is possible.”

The Engen Maths & Science Schools deliver supplementary classes in four provinces in South Africa. These include KwaZulu-Natal, which comprises four centres of study, the Eastern Cape with three, and the Western Cape and Gauteng with one centre each in Cape Town and Johannesburg respectively. In 2015 the centres accepted more than 1894 learners from grades 10 to 12 with 1030 of these learners being female and 864 being male.
The Cala Centre that Athenkosi attended reveals how year-on-year the EMSS programme is helping to improve lives, as the Grade 12 Bachelor pass continued to climb.

A spotlight on 2014 shows that no distinctions were achieved in Cala and the bachelor pass rate was as low as 33.33%, while 2015 saw two distinctions for maths and science and a bachelor pass rate of 51%. Engen’s Corporate Social Investment Manager, Mntu Nduvane says, “We are very proud of the achievements of Athenkosi. He has been a real tribute to our programme and an especially bright light in Cala.

“We are also extremely proud of the calibre of all our learners who often face an onslaught of obstacles during the academic year. We wish for all our EMSS learners past and present, ongoing success with their studies and careers into the future.”

Tasneem Sulaiman-Bray, Engen’s General Manager of Corporate Affairs says, “Students like Athenkosi are shining examples because they have used the teaching resources, structure and materials of the EMSS programme as a springboard. Athenkosi’s success is testament to the fact that hard work and perseverance, and the support of committed teachers, pay off. At Engen we are passionate about maths and science education and recognise its importance in producing a prosperous, skilled work force in South Africa.”