Frank Maponya

A Limpopo teacher has made a passionate plea to the business community and non-governmental organisations to assist his school with funds to make it "a centre of excellence".

Mmipe Mokgehle, a teacher at Toronto Primary School in Mankweng, made this plea after winning a smart board and an overhead digital projector to the value of R100000 for his school.

Mokgehle had entered a competition initiated by the Innovative Teacher Forum introduced by Microsoft. The competition, which started in 2005, is aimed, among other things, at fostering dialogue on best practice, innovation and pedagogy among teachers.

It is also aimed at engaging teachers intellectually and offering opportunities to them to be active stakeholders in their profession.

Mokgehle competed against 22 other finalists from other provinces at the national finals in Bryanston. He was regarded as the best in the Peer Review Award after the other finalists voted him the most innovative.

He had made a presentation on indigenous knowledge systems for biodiversity conservation.

Mokgehle is an expert in information technology. He is the holder of the Internet Service Provider Association's Super Teacher of the Year 2007 Award.

Those who can help Mokgehle can contact him on 015-267-1188 or 083-343-4570.