Adulthood is Knocking

The clock is ticking for 17-year-old Nonhlanhla Mashabana. For months, she’s buried herself in her textbooks. Now, instead of enjoying her matric dance like any teenager should, she can't shake her anxiety about the make-or-break final exams. They're just weeks away. In South Africa, the odds are against her: just 12 out of every 100 students who start Grade 1 will ever reach university. As Nonhlanhla prepares for her greatest challenge yet, the question is: Can she overcome a broken education system, or will it bring her down with it?  Show Notes This is episode two of a series from Radio Workshop that explores the transition to higher education in South Africa. Listen to Episode One, Finding the Right Words.Support the work of Radio Workshop by donating today.Sign up for Radio Workshop’s newsletter on Substack, and connect with us on Instagram and LinkedIn.Sources: Youth Capital Education BriefPublic Servants Association of South Africa - Fixing Higher Education in South AfricaBusiness Tech - University FeesStats SA - Income and Expenditure SurveyNews24 - Campus crisis: 337 158 matrics qualify for university admission but there are only 202 000 placesAcknowledgements:Luminate, the Constitutionalism Fund, the Shin Creek Trust, the Anne Levy Charitable Trust, the SCP Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Pam and Bill Michaelcheck. Special thanks to Rob Byers, Clotilde Angelucci at Youth Capital, and to Hindenburg for supporting our projects across Africa with audio editing software. Support the showWe can only do this work because of your support. You can make a donation at radioworkshop.org.