The great day for Grade 12 learners in South Africa has arrived as the class of 2021 sits down for the final year examination today. The exams will run for a period of almost six weeks as the final paper will be written on 7 December 2021.

Kaizer Chiefs Marketing Director Jessica Motaung took the opportunity on behalf of the Club to wish all those who are starting with the final year examinations the best of luck.

“This is one of the most important moments in life and I would like to say all the best to all the young and old learners who are starting their examinations today,” says Jessica Motaung. “We know and understand that it is not an easy period for many learners due to the many challenges they faced. We do however believe that with enough preparation and support, a lot can be achieved by those who are sitting down for their examinations.”

According to the Department of Basic Education, there are 735 677 full-time and 162 109 candidates who have enrolled for the 2021 National Senior Certificate examination.

Kaizer Chiefs has a number of players in the Under-19 team and reserve side who are among the over 800 000 learners who are writing their Grade 12 examination this year.

“We take education very seriously as we work with coaches and administrators who were educators by profession so they can assist and provide all the necessary support to our players,” add Motaung.  “People such as our Head of Technical and Youth Development, Molefi Ntseki, coach Vela Khumalo and Ntsie Maphike are educators by profession and know the importance of balancing football and education. We are lucky to have them give support to our junior players and work with parents to ensure that players do focus on their books.”

The academic programme has been disrupted many times due to Covid-19 outbreak last year but things improved this year.

“We also know that Grade 1-11 exams will follow in the next coming weeks and again we have players who are in the U-13, U-15, U17 and U-19 teams who will be writing their exams,” confirms Motaung. We wish our young players luck and urge them to start preparing themselves now so that they only do revision when their exams commence.”

With the Gauteng Development League over for many teams that did not make the finals, three Kaizer Chiefs team will play the finals of the GDL this coming weekend. The young players will then be given time to focus on their studies after the finals.

“The programme has been worked on and it supports education. We are happy that three of our development teams are in the GDL final and wish them luck in their games before they take their well-deserved break from football.

“We call on parents and family members to ensure that they assist learners where necessary,” Motaung emphasised. “We need to ensure that students are able to study in a conducive environment, keep monitoring their progress and provide support or seek professional help where necessary as this is sometimes a very stressful time for them.”

The Grade 12 results will be released on 20 January 2022.