Rural KZN Teacher Awarded National Teaching Award

Lindiwe was recently presented with the prestigious award in the Early Childhood Development (ECD) category. Embury's CEO, Johan Human explains that ECD is a critical phase in a learner's life. "Research has shown that children who experience a formal ECD education perform better at school and tend to have better employment opportunities later in life," he comments. "Training and preparing high-performance teachers to work in South African schools is a primary aim for Embury, and having one of our alumni receive such a wonderful award certainly makes us proud," Human further adds.

Recognising the pronounced potential and dedication in Lindiwe as a foundation phase teacher, the teacher of Vondlo Primary decided to nominate her for the award. The competition process consisted of competing in a number of phases, from a regional level, to provincial, to national. Having flourished through the various phases, she ended up being one of nine contestants competing for various awards. In the end, Lindiwe rose above all, securing a win in the ECD category.

While on a DoE bursary, Lindiwe graduated cum laude from Embury in Durban in 2014 with a Bachelor of Education Foundation Phase. Although, growing up, she didn't always want to be a teacher. "Many of my family members are teachers, and they often encouraged me to follow in their footsteps," Lindiwe mentioned. During her school years, her teachers often asked her to help her fellow classmates with certain aspects of the lesson. It was then that she started to develop teaching skills without even knowing.

When asked about her love of teaching, Lindiwe replied: "It's something that just comes naturally. It has its challenges, but it's still fun. I learn something new every day - you generally do when you teach children who come from varying backgrounds." Vondlo Primary schools approximately 1 500 learners, most of whom reside in the Enseleni township.

Essentially, being presented with the Department of Basic Education National Teaching Award has been ammunition for Lindiwe (and teachers alike) in defeating perceptions that the standard of education in rural or township areas is not as high as the urban areas.