Four high schools from Site B in Khayelitsha went up against each other when Khayelitsha library held its annual school quiz last Thursday at their hall just opposite the Nonkqubela Link shopping centre.
MatthewGoniwe, Masiyile, Usasazo and Joe Slovo each had three to four representatives competing.
While some pupils huddled together, whispering and discussing answers, others hung their heads in confusion as they battled to get the right answers.
There were tense moments as each group jotted down their answers, but there was also laughter to break the ice.
Questions ranged from general knowledge, to current affairs and politics and after a gruelling three-hour session, Masiyile High School emerged victorious, walking away with a roving trophy and goodie bags.
Khayelitsha librarian,Vuyokazi Rani-Njambatwa, said they started the quiz three years ago to help expand pupils, knowledge while instilling in them a culture of reading.
Ms Rani-Njambatwa said the quiz also gave pupils a break from the traditional classroom learning experience.
She emphasised that there was dire need to revive the quiz culture in schools and added that she believed all the avenues of learning and teaching should be used to ensure that children got the best possible education.
Ms Rani-Njambatwa said besides the obvious academic benefits of expanding a pupils’ knowledge and exploring new skills at an early age, quizzes taught them to be inquisitive and critical thinkers.
And, she said, it also taught pupils to work as a team.
“We owe it to our children to create a conducive learning environment.
We should do all we can to give them the necessary skills that they need to succeed in life. Reading is the key to anything. We need more libraries and schools to do this so that more children could be interested in reading and expanding their knowledge. Quiz opens up a new world to pupils. We want our pupils to develop love and passion for reading,” she said.
Asked about challenges, Ms Rani-Njambatwa said they needed more pupils to take part in the competition and that she wished that they could give pupils more meaningful prizes.
Masiyile High school teacher Samukelo Nombembe said she was proud of her pupils and it showed that their hard work and preparations had paid off.
Ms Nombembe appealed to pupils to take part in such initiatives as they were beneficial to their development.
Usasazo librarian UnathiZongezi, said the quiz promoted reading and shaped the thinking capacity of the pupils. She praised the library for reviving this important initiative.
Masiyile pupil Lerato Sihlangu said she was excited that she had won and she had learnt a lot from the competition.