Western Cape honours province’s top teachers

News

Three “miracle workers” were amongst the top teachers honoured by the Western Cape Education Department during the provincial round of the National Teaching Awards at the end of October.

Nomaweza Victoria Mangqwengqwe, Somikazi Mtya and Nomvume Sophazi were named winners in the category: excellence in Grade R teaching. The trio teached at Umnqophiso Pre-Primary School in Lwandle, Strand. The school is named “The School of Miracles”.

Team Umnqophiso is led by Mangqwengwe, who started a pre-school for children from the disadvantaged community without earning a salary. She was later joined by Mtya, who was equally passionate and also prepared to teach without a salary. They were later joined by Nomvume.

The school started in 1996 with one Grade R classroom and expanded to five Grade R classes and one pre Grade R class. The staff work in close partnership with the parents and they use various projects and programmes to address specific needs within the community. This also saw the birth of Phakamani, which is a training programme for adult learning and skills development.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Western Cape Education Minister Donald Grant said the province was lucky to have so many dedicated teachers.

“They influence our thoughts, our outlook on life, they inspire us, and they encourage us to be the best we can be, and for that they are in turn loved and revered by the learners that pass through their classroom door each year.”

He said each and every one of the 47 individuals honoured at the award ceremony has demonstrated commitment and dedication to the teaching profession. “We are delighted to publicly thank the outstanding teams or individual teachers in our schools.” 

Grant said good teachers constantly evolved and were open to developing their teaching skills throughout their careers. “I have been overwhelmed this year at the positive response we have had in this province to all our teaching conferences and workshops and it demonstrates the level of commitment we have here in the province for the provision of quality education.”

“I do honestly feel that, for whatever reason, there recently is a renewed sense of hope and determination amongst our teaching corps and I believe that this will ultimately lead to better learner outcomes. I hope we can all, together, harness this positive attitude in the year to come.”

About 32 000 teachers in the Western Cape were eligible for nomination.

The department presented awards in eight categories following a rigorous selection process in all the education districts of the province and regional finals involving clusters of districts.

The awards recognised excellence in teaching and education leadership and formed part of the National Teaching Awards programme managed by the Department of Basic Education (DBE).

The names of the provincial winners will go forward to the national competition.

The panel included representatives of all sectors of the education community, including all teacher trade unions, school governing body associations and WCED officials.