Simon Nare

Simon Nare

Three teachers were honoured for excellence and outstanding work at the Aggrey Klaaste Maths, Science and Technology Educator of the Year Awards held in Midrand last week .

Mamosadi Monareng of Khayalethu Secondary School in the North West, who has taught technology to grade 7 to grade 9 pupils since 2003, walked away with the general education training award.

"Working with pupils is a challenge. You have to understand them individually and know what problems they are facing," said Monareng

Monareng also said she had the satisfaction of knowing that she had contributed to the school's 90 percent matric pass rate.

Thamsanqa Makhathini, from Eshowe in KwaZulu-Natal, scooped the further education and training award.

Makhathini is responsible for the matric intervention programme at KwaZenzele High School. The programme seeks to ensure that matriculants are given all the necessary support by their teachers - specifically in terms of maths, biology and physical science.

"For me it's a reward for hard work in my teaching career which spans over 11 years," Makhathini said.

"The challenge we face is when those kids graduate to high school with no mathematics or science background," he said.

Colin van Tooren, also from KwaZulu-Natal, won the retired teacher prize.

Van Tooren, who was the principal of Eshowe High School, retired in 2003.

Since retiring he has remained active and has introduced a mobile biology and science laboratory in Eshowe.

The programme, which is sponsored by the Shuttleworth Foundation, has been a resounding success that now also includes all rural schools in the Eshowe area.