OVER QUALIFIED FOR UNIVERSITY - DENIED

  AGE 15

 My mother married a European man, this was why we moved to go to Europe.   So I lived in Europe for more than 3 years.  And I pretty much lived alone.  My sister arrived there 6 months after me, but after a few months she basically disappeared with her boyfriend.  And in the end with the guy she would marry.  She and her husband left after 2 years.  So basically I was fully alone. I had an adult guardian that was supposed to be there for me if I needed anything, but he was even less help then my sister.  

My mom was delayed in arriving in Europe due to troubles selling her property and changing her career, even though she has her masters in biology.  So I only saw my parents every 6 months.  I had a problem talking to my mother or any family members about my real problems.  I never told her how many times I went hungry in Europe.  After some time, the guardian asked me to go and clean out a house he is going to give to his daughter after marriage.  When we got there, the house was already clean and he was sitting at the kitchen table.  When I sat down, he started telling me he is having troubles with his wife.  And ‘apparently’ the doctor told him to use the body of a young boy to correct his problem.  He even offered me a lot of money.  So yeah, of course I turned him down, even though I needed the money.  I would rather starve than have anything to do with him.  So I refused to go and see him, only when I dislocated my shoulder and I really needed to be driven to the hospital.   So you can imagine my situation.  There was even days when I really had nothing to eat.  My friend’s parents owned a hotel so I spent many nights there keeping my friend company and eating sandwiches.  So in the end I ended up becoming a waiter to earn some real money.  This was also not the best thing to do since I needed international certificates in order to go to university later.  My regular day was: finish school at 13:00, relax for a moment at a coffee shop, with a coffee and a cigarette.  Then I would drive with a friend about 40km’s to his house, there we would change, and then get ready for work.  Work started at 15:00 so we quickly did our homework. 

We finished work at 12:00, get 5 hours sleep, woke up at 06:00 and drove to school.  The school was a lot of fun.  But it was a new school and they had no idea how to handle the international certificates for their students.  What they did, is they made us take Oxford Qualifications and also Cambridge Qualifications.  So since I was young and all alone, I went through the process, passed all the exams with flying colors, and never realized that would be a problem.  Cambridge exams start off as IGCSE (International General Certificates Secondary Education) then you can take HIGCE (Higher International General Certificates of Education) and finish with AICE (Advanced International Certificates of Education).  Oxford exams start off as O-Levels (Ordinary Levels) and then you can finish with A-Levels (Advanced Levels).

Since I graduated from school, I had the option of staying in Europe, going to Army, or I would return to Africa and go to University.  My grandmother had died earlier that year, and my grandfather had begged me to come down and live with him.  I was not too fond of the idea of going to army or go to Africa and live in an old age home.  Tough decision.  Another reason was because my grandfather never cooked in his life and sooner or later he wouldn’t be allowed to drive, due to his old age.  The main reason I left was because I wanted to concentrate entirely on getting my degree.  It was a hard decision, especially since I would have to leave my friends, and I would have to move into an old age home and make new friends.  Anyway, there was no ways I could turn my back on my grandfather.  You have to realize he lost both his children. My dad died in a airplane accident and his other son died in a car crash soon afterwards. I decided to look after, cook and drive my grandfather around in exchange for food and shelter.  Before I made the whole move, I contacted the University and they said I was over qualified.  When I arrived in Africa, then all of a sudden they threw a curve ball into my face.  They told me, yes you are over qualified, but you need to get your Matriculation Exemption Certificate.  They told me simply to provide my international certificates. 

So I contacted the board, posted my certified copies of my qualification, and then…. no response. We waited and waited until I decided to call them.  Of course I can’t remember 100% due to my brain cancer but I will try my best to honestly explain.   

Lets use 50 points as a basis I required.  Either 50 from oxford or 55 from Cambridge.  What I had, was about 80 points. I told him very politely I have 80 points, can you please just put my points together.  He said no, that confuses the system.  I couldn’t believe it, it was ridiculous. I could have sworn that was like talking to a monkey on the phone.   All he had to do was add my points divide it by 2 and then he will see how much I am way over the required limit.  Now I either had to just leave my grandfather to die alone, or go back to Europe and go to Army.  My grandfather and I agreed that it might be better that I go to College and further my preparation for university.  So I drove my grandfather to the nearest college that offered Business Management Diplomas.  We spoke to the principle; he also agreed I was over qualified.  I was immediately accepted since college does not require the Exception Certificate.    We did ask; if a one year Certificate or a two year Diploma would qualify for an Exemption Certificate?  And the Principle personally assured both of us that only a Diploma would certify an Exemption Certificate.  So we both decided it would be good for me to go to college, and so I did, I did however start as a waiter at a restaurant.  Simply, the 1st year of college was like revision for me.  It was really simple and easy.  After I graduated the first year, I started wondering.  I applied for a Diploma in Business Management. 

I received a Certificate in Marketing and Entrepreneurial Studies.  I figured Entrepreneurial is basically Business, so my diploma should be Business Management. So I finished the second year at the college, and I had very good grades. There was a requirement of 60 days, of working experience, so I found a job at a branched Dutch Nursery, to do some Marketing and obtain my practical experience.  The job mostly involved undergoing surveys of where the nursery was known within the city.  They already had 3 branches (including the Head Office), were planning on a fourth branch, so my job was to do their survey.    Then came my graduation.  I knew I had the second highest grades in the class, so the Business Management Award went to another girl. 

Imagine my surprise and confusion when I received my diploma and it wasn’t a Business Management diploma, but rather a Marketing Diploma.  The next day, we approached the principle, he said he enquired about my Exemption Certificate and then received a response that the college was not registered.  And also not allowed to give me a Business Management Diploma.  And to top it all off, I couldn’t even obtain a simple Exemption Certificate so I couldn’t go to University.  Oh god was I upset, I said we must go straight to a lawyer and sue the college for what they did to me.  My grandfather was too religious. He told me to forgive the college and their actions.  Well, if only I could have afforded a lawyer I truly would have sued the College and the Exemption Board.  But I couldn’t; I had no choice but to accept it and try and carry on with my dream for University.  My grandfather was so old I had to act accordingly to look after his health because he got too involved in my stressful moment, so in a way, I had to accept the worst just to calm him down.   Now my options were to go back to Europe and go to army for 2 years OR to go back to High School and obtain my 5 Matric Certificates (Lower Standards Certificates) OR wait one more year and get the Exemption Certificate simply due to my age when I turn 23; after 1 years work.  I had done my work experience part of my diploma at a local nursery. After graduation I visited the nursery since I appreciated everything they made possible for me to achieve. 

They told me they would create a position for me.  The money will not be great but they will make me their Human Resource Manager.  I would hire, train, discipline and represent the company in labor court.  So I accepted the job to get started with my practical experience.  At least I was off to a good start with HR Management, I worked at the Head Office, and would drive out to the respective branches.  The work was a breeze.  I was even doing Training Manuals for the Lower Management employees so I could picture a future with this company.  They didn’t need any Qualifications, they knew what I was capable of.  Without personal work experience , I would never otherwise have obtained a HR Management position. 

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