A Limpopo high school which was gutted during unrest in the Vuwani area near Thohoyandou is aiming for a 95% matric pass rate for this year.

Yesterday, Vhafamadi Secondary School principal Mashau Thenga said they would fight to increase their pass rate from last year's 83% to 95% despite the devastation caused by the burning of their school.

The school, in Ha-Mashau village, was one of the first to be torched during demarcation-related protests which hit Vuwani and surrounding villages earlier this year, resulting in the destruction of about 30 school buildings.

Pupils in the area missed out on months of lessons due to sporadic shutdowns, which resulted in them having to attend study camps in Polokwane to catch up and write their mid-year examinations.

Thenga was speaking to the media during Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga's visit to schools in the area yesterday. Most pupils at the school could be seen crammed into mobile classrooms during lessons, while 151 matric pupils sat inside part of the building that survived the flames.

Thenga said the torching of schools in the area had been a traumatic experience for both pupils and teachers. He said this affected pupils' performance during their mid-year examinations.

Thenga said the school's performance had dropped dramatically from the first term due to the riots.

He said they had come up with strategies, including extra classes during the week - which run from 2.30pm to 4pm - in the hope of attaining 95% pass rate and 50% bachelor passes.

Grade 12 pupil Mpeyiwa Mbinzo, 19, said he was determined to study hard and pass.

Mbinzo said he was badly affected by not being able to attend classes. "But that will not get in the way of my education. I'm going to university after I pass my matric," he said.

Motshekga addressed the 151 Grade 12 pupils at the school, urging them not to use the burning of school buildings as an excuse to fail their final year examinations.

She warned the pupils to make sure they pass because no one would remember that they came from a burnt school building.

"We will look at the student number. We won't care if you come from a burnt classroom," Motshekga said.

She also encouraged the pupils to take their inspiration from former matriculants who managed to produce outstanding results despite going through tough times.

"The only thing you can do with your trauma is to succeed. Fight with all the energy you have. You will not regret it come January."

Earlier, Motshekga told the media she hoped Vhembe district would maintain its position as one of the country's top 10 centres in matric results despite the situation in Vuwani.

She said extra classes and study camps would assist pupils to be ready for their examinations.

Motshekga, however, said the department would struggle to fix the damage caused by the fires as they needed a budget of over R300- million. She said funds meant for other projects had to be used to pay for mobile classrooms and study camps.

mahopoz@sowetan.co.za