Night Studies Pay Off For Dunoon Matriculant

Studying in the early hours of the morning, when his mother and younger brother were asleep in the one-room house they shared, Sange Dastile made his way to academic excellence . The 19-year-old from Zwezwe informal settlement in Dunoon, Cape Town, secured seven distinctions in matric and a place to study medicine this year at Stellenbosch University.

He says the cramped space his mother rented near the school in Joe Slovo - the single room is the kitchen, bedroom and study - presented its own set of challenges. Privacy was scarce when he bathed, his mother had to step outside. Evenings often demanded patience as he waited for his mother to finish watching her favourite TV programmes before beginning his studies. He would work from 10pm to 3am.

Despite the odds, Dastile emerged among the top five achievers at Sinenjongo High School in Joe Slovo Park with an aggregate of more than 88 and distinctions in physical sciences, mathematics, English first additional language, computer applications technology, Xhosa home language, life sciences and life orientation.

He says he applied to Stellenbosch University, the University of Pretoria, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, and the University of the Free State. Each institution offered him a place to study medicine, but he chose Stellenbosch University, where he will study with a loan from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.