The author shares his experience and urges current South African students not to fear upcoming exams, reminding them of the resilience of their predecessors who achieved education under extremely difficult conditions.
A message of hope for every South African student
The writer recalls times when he and his friends visited the park near the University of Natal, studying textbooks. One of the irritating aspects was the abundance of monkey balls on the grounds, which they ate but knew not to swallow the toxic seeds.
The exam season is approaching. For thousands of South African students, the National Senior Certificate written exams for 2026 will begin on October 13, while college and university students are also preparing for their tests using textbooks, notes, and past papers.
These days are often accompanied by sleepless nights, nervousness, fatigue, and moments of self-doubt when the thought arises that being a TikToker would have been a better choice. The author understands this, as he himself went through similar moments, although in his time there were no smartphones, TikTok, or YouTube lessons that could help at night.
Student under the streetlamp
He transports the reader back to the period before power outages, water interruptions, and the advent of hybrid cars. During apartheid and the Group Areas Act, his family lived in a dilapidated house in Mayville, where the lack of electricity made studying impossible after dark.
So he and his friends found a solution: they stood under streetlights with their textbooks, trying to concentrate, competing with moths for the scarce light. Although it was not an ideal study environment, they were determined to learn. When standing under the lamps became tiring, they sometimes went to the then University of Natal and sat in its park area, hoping that knowledge from books would enter their heads.
However, there was a serious distraction: monkey balls grew on the grounds, and studying was periodically interrupted by the temptation to pick them. These balls were not nutritious, but they made the struggle a little more enjoyable. They happily ate the monkey balls but knew not to swallow the poisonous seeds.
Looking back, they could have given up. Instead, thanks to determination, perseverance, and a certain youthful stubbornness, they graduated from school and continued their studies, where they discovered that exams were harder, and that nothing is achieved without effort.
Examination hall
He still remembers sitting in the examination hall and opening the paper he felt adequately prepared for. Suddenly, the questions seemed to be written in another language. There was always a moment when you looked at the first question and thought, 'I know this.' Then came the second question, and doubts began. By the third question, you wondered if you had attended the necessary classes over the past year.
Multiple-choice tests brought their own torture. You confidently chose 'B' only to discover that you had chosen 'B' for the three previous questions. Then you looked suspiciously at the paper, wondering if the examiner held a personal dislike for the letter 'B', or chose 'C', hoping that 'C' meant 'Correct'. Sometimes his brain simply refused to cooperate. He stared at the question, hoping that if he looked at it long enough, the answer would suddenly appear. This happened rarely, but somehow he survived. He believes this is one of the lessons he wants to convey to today's students: an exam may seem enormous while you are in it, but it is just one moment in a much broader life.
Sowing seeds
Exam anxieties should be viewed in the context of those who came before. When the first indentured Indian workers arrived in Natal in 1860, they brought not only the physical strength needed for plantation work but also hopes and dreams for their children. However, the colonial authorities had no immediate plans to provide proper education for these children.
Therefore, parents, community leaders, and other visionaries had to find their own ways to open the doors of education. In 1865, the Isipingo plantation school opened its doors to African and Indian children. At Reunion Estate, the hospital was converted into a classroom. In 1868, Reverend Ralph Stott founded a day school in Durban, and Mr. Barker ran an evening school in Umzinto for children and adults.
Education became a beacon of hope, although progress was agonizingly slow. By 1876, there were only two schools in Durban serving 54 Indian students. Over the years, plantation schools appeared and evening classes were established. Eventually, Indian communities began taking greater responsibility for their children's education. The Hindu community of Pietermaritzburg founded a school in 1902, Carlisle Street School opened in 1905, and the Indian Educational Institute in Durban, founded in 1911, provided education to day students and working adults, including commercial subjects, languages, and cultural education.
These were not just classrooms. They symbolized determination, self-sufficiency, and resistance to a system that created huge obstacles for people striving for a better future. Much later, landmark schools such as Sastri College, Durban Girls High, Gandhi Desai, and Orient High were established.
What can we learn?
Early students did not have electricity, internet, smartphones, online lessons, or what seemed like an endless supply of past exam papers. What they had was something more fundamental: determination, community, and faith that education could change their children's lives.
Many modern students have advantages that pioneers could barely imagine, although the author admits that there are still schools and homes in South Africa where studying remains difficult and resources are limited. For those with access to resources, the lesson is simple: use what you have. Study consistently instead of waiting for panic to create a schedule. Work through past exam papers. Learn from your mistakes. Ask teachers for help when something is unclear. Study with friends if it helps, but remember that a study group must involve real learning. And please, get some sleep. An exhausted brain is not necessarily a smarter brain.
Most importantly—do not let one difficult subject, one disappointing grade, or one bad day convince you that you are a failure.
Your turn
If you are reading this as a student preparing for exams, know that fear does not mean weakness. It means you care about the outcome. You do not need to know everything. You do not need to be perfect. You just need to prepare as well as possible and then give your best effort in the exam. When you enter the examination hall, take a breath and read the questions carefully. Start with what you know. If a question is difficult, move on and come back to it later. Do not let one difficult question convince you that you know nothing.
And when you finally leave the examination hall, remember something even more important: your grades measure your performance on the exam, but they will never measure the true value of the person you are. The author knows this because he remembers a young man who once stood under a streetlamp in Mayville with a textbook in his hands, trying to study without electricity.
He did not know what future awaited him. He did not know where his education would lead him. He only knew that he wanted a better future and was ready to work for it. The author also remembers the monkey balls. Perhaps that is why, after so many years, he can smile recalling the exams. They seemed so huge then, but life turned out to be much bigger than any exam paper.
So, to all South African students preparing for exams, he says: do not be afraid of the journey. Study hard, believe in yourself, ask for help when needed, and keep moving forward when it gets tough. One day you might look back on these anxious weeks and realize that they prepared you not just for the exam, but for life itself. If people of our past could study under streetlights, build schools with minimal resources, and achieve education despite huge obstacles, then we can certainly ask the current generation to believe in themselves. Give everything you have. And then walk out of the examination hall with your head held high. The future awaits.