History teacher Bongi Ndaba, who has been achieving 100% pass for years, had to pull an ace card last year to continue with a streak of great results.

Ndaba, a teacher at Tabhane Senior Secondary School in Bergville, KwaZulu-Natal, has been teaching at the school for 23 years. The 49-year-old has been achieving good marks for years and has lost count of her achievements.

Since last year she dealt with kids who were doing grade 10 when Covid-19 started in 2020. Realising that the pass rate was low, Ndaba started an initiative to reward learners in order to inspire them to perform better. It started with her giving R50 to those who get more than 80% pass in her subjects.

By the time they wrote the final exam, Ndaba had upped the stakes to R200 for those who got distinctions last year. Her pupils responded to the challenge and received 11 distinctions, and now Ndaba has to part with R2,200.

She told SowetanLIVE that she was pleased with the results.

“I did not expect results to be this good because we were dealing with kids who were hardly taught in 2020. As a result I could see in the beginning of the year that they were weak. In the first term I got below 65% marks. As a person who is used to getting distinctions I became worried. I used a different strategy this time. I started rewarding those who pass by 80% and more with R50 from my own pocket. I am proud of them and they are going to get their reward for working hard.”

Ndaba explained that she has been able to achieve good marks because of the love she has for her work and her pupils.

“Seeing these kids achieving quality results is a pleasing feeling. My approach to the teaching method is making sure that me and learners are on the same page. They understand my plan to make them achieve good results. More than anything, I love these kids and I want to see them being the best version of themselves.”

Ndaba managed to achieve great results because she starts work as early as the second week of January. Her learners start with morning classes and also write tests every week.

“It is through those assessments that you are able to see who is struggling and who is catching up quickly. By June I am able to group them according to how they comprehend the subject.”