Varsity Institute of Science & Technology

If you want to study and you do not have Matric, chances are you may be interested in completing your Technical Matric. According to Varsity Institute of Science & Technology, a Technical Matric is “an N3 level nated national qualification that offers a more practical alternative to the National Senior Certificate (Grade 12).” The subjects While the Matric syllabus is academic and theoretically focused, a Technical Matric is more practical and prepares you for specific roles in the working world. A Technical Matric is made up of six subjects, including Business English, Sake Afrikaans, and four technical subjects on N3 level. Combining your Technical Matric with skills development courses or vocational programmes can further increase your professional value. The opportunities A Matric can get you into university, while a Technical Matric might not. A Technical Matric can, however, open up many opportunities in terms of jobs and further studies at N4 level. A ...

Prof Kobus Maree, from the department of educational psychology at the University of Pretoria (UP), offered advice to parents of children who did not pass the exams: Reassure your children and communicate openly. Talk to them or text them. Offer them emotional support. Ask them how they feel. Carefully note their body language. Let them know there is a support structure in place; that you regard them as precious and that you love them unconditionally. Remind your child that this has been just one exam, one transition, and give them hope. Many people fail their grade 12 exams, but go on to be extremely successful in later life. Talking negatively and blaming them serve no purpose. Be positive and inspiring. If your child acts out and makes you feel miserable, this should be considered “normal” under the circumstances. Do not blame yourself. What has happened does not make you a bad person or a failure. S...

Five ways to make peace with failure . Let’s face it.  We all make mistakes. Most of us know that failure is a reality of life, and at some level, we understand that it actually helps us grow. Intellectually, we even acknowledge that the greatest achievers -- past and present -- also routinely experienced colossal failures. But still, we hate to fail.  We fear it, we dread it, and when it does happen, we hold onto it.  We give it power over our emotions, and sometimes we allow it to dictate our way forward (or backward). Some of us go to great lengths to avoid failure because of all the pain and shame associated with it. Why is it so hard to let go, forgive ourselves and move on?  And how can we keep failure – or the fear of it -- from derailing us? Here are five strategies. 1.  Don't make it personal .  Separate the failure from your identity. Just because you haven’t found a successful way of doing something (yet) ...