MyPE

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Lecturers seem to be problem. Really? Get a life!

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In The Herald of Monday 10 November I was aghast to read the following;

“NMMU says it strives for excellence, yet why when when there are so many failures in the honours class of students studying CA. I say again your lecturers in that particular course are the problem as even third year students seem to be struggling.”

Signed: PARENT

As the parent of one of the students that PASSED I would like to say:

Thank you.

Thank you for making those students that passed the heroes that they now are.

Thank you for alerting all in the accounting industry to the special 50 or so students that passed the 2014 BCom Accounting Honours course at NMMU.

Thank you for ensuring that those 50 or so students will be applauded by their peers for passing under ‘difficult conditions’ with ‘incompetent lecturers’.

Thank you for demonstrating that you don’t really believe in excellence unless it serves your selfish view of the world.

How dare you, ‘PARENT’, attempt to cheapen the incredible efforts of those students that passed? How dare you attempt to take away the sweet victory from those students that passed? How dare you cheapen the vocation that these students spent hours and hours slaving away for.

It is only through excellence that our country will move forward OR would you rather we hand out certificates to anyone just to make them happy?

A hard won victory is the sweetest victory.

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. An emailed comment: All tribute to the successful candidates and their mentors. This is real
    life and only those who apply themselves will succeed.Well done!

  2. An emailed comment: Well said 🙂 The Accounting Dept has an excellent reputation nationally, but the subject is hard and people do fail. Those that passed should get the kudos they deserve.

  3. As a past student of NMMU and now qualified CA, who failed my first attempt at my honours year, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank NMMU for failing me after my first attempt. Why? Well it’s simple, A) if I’m honest with myself, I hadn’t grasped the technical knowledge needed to start my articles; and B) I didn’t have the right level of knowledge to be able to write and pass my first board exam.
    This may sound easy to say, now almost 6 years after qualifying as a CA, but the fact is that had I been “pushed” through I would never have passed my board one exam set by SAICA, at the first attempt. My second attempt would of been even more difficult to pass because I would of then been well into my articles, which involves long hours and possible out of town work; the last thing you want when studying for your Board exam. SAICA sets the bar high in order to finally qualify as a CA and long may it continue, having been in the industry now for almost nine years I can say with confidence that CA’s stand out head and shoulders above normal accountants, and this is because SAICA sets the bar so high.
    Unless you’ve studied to be a CA yourself it’s always difficult to explain to someone why this program is so difficult and why it’s not always possible to have high pass marks. In my opinion this should be compared to studying to become a doctor, if a doctor doesn’t get things right his/her patient may die. In the CA world, we deal with/audit/consult on investors hard earned money and if we get things wrong people could lose their hard earned money which could also have knock on effects.

    The lecturers at NMMU are at the top of their game, the program they run there is world class. Some of the world’s top CA’s come out of the NMMU program. As a CA myself I would highly recommend the NMMU accounting school to anyone who wishes to become a CA one day. Keep up the good work chaps.

    Regards

    James Flanagan

    CA (SA)

    • Thanks James – I am sure the fact that you had to work hard for your CA makes you even more proud of your vocation and instills greater confidence in you.

  5. Another emailed comment:

    I agree with James Flanagan – I also failed my Accounting Honours the first time I wrote it at NMMU and I had to re-do the year. I am so glad that I did because I sailed through Board. If I hadn’t failed, I would never have passed Board first time – and statistically it is proven that people who don’t pass Board first time have a 40% chance of passing the second time they write, and this percentage then drops even lower for each time they have to re-write Board. I wrote my Board exams in Cape Town, with a number of UCT and Wits students – all the NMMU students who wrote Board that year passed, while the UCT students only had a 60% pass rate and the Wits students had 80% pass rate. Some of the UCT students went on to write Board 5 times – and they never passed. I am so glad that the lecturers failed me so that I could pass Board first time– I am so glad I went to NMMU were they don’t let you pass unless they are absolutely certain you will be able to pass Board. So “parent” do not run down the NMMU lecturers – they are brilliant and they do a brilliant job. Tell your child to pull him/herself together and re-do Honours so he/she has an excellent chance of passing Board. Or would you rather your child pass Honours and then spend the next five years re-writing Board only to never pass it? Who will you blame then?