The department of basic education is celebrating outstanding educators who under challenging circumstances have remained committed to their noble craft and produced extraordinary outcomes at the National Teaching Awards.
Speaking at the prestigious event held at Emperor’s Palace in Kempton Park on Wednesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said at the height of Covid-19, teachers remained true to their calling.
“We are indeed indebted to our teachers who made it possible for our children's education to continue. In the course of Covid-19 you had to adapt. It is with sadness that we remember and pay tribute to all teachers and other education officials who succumbed to Covid-19,” he said.
“As a nation, our most pressing challenge right now is youth unemployment. Some of the young work-seekers are not well educated and do not possess sufficient skills and previous work experience demanded by employers in the labour market. That places a great responsibility on teachers and education officials and indeed on all of us to ensure that our schools, colleges, universities and other training institutions are producing the skills and capabilities that our country needs,” Ramaphosa said.
The 21st edition of the awards has been benchmarked against worldwide teacher award strategies such as the African Union Teacher Prize, the Commonwealth Education Awards and the Global Teacher Prize. This benchmarking has enhanced the scope and audience of the awards structure and ceremony.
Ramaphosa praises teachers at the National Teaching Awards
The department of basic education is celebrating outstanding educators who under challenging circumstances have remained committed to their noble craft and produced extraordinary outcomes at the National Teaching Awards.
Speaking at the prestigious event held at Emperor’s Palace in Kempton Park on Wednesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said at the height of Covid-19, teachers remained true to their calling.
“We are indeed indebted to our teachers who made it possible for our children's education to continue. In the course of Covid-19 you had to adapt. It is with sadness that we remember and pay tribute to all teachers and other education officials who succumbed to Covid-19,” he said.
“As a nation, our most pressing challenge right now is youth unemployment. Some of the young work-seekers are not well educated and do not possess sufficient skills and previous work experience demanded by employers in the labour market. That places a great responsibility on teachers and education officials and indeed on all of us to ensure that our schools, colleges, universities and other training institutions are producing the skills and capabilities that our country needs,” Ramaphosa said.
The 21st edition of the awards has been benchmarked against worldwide teacher award strategies such as the African Union Teacher Prize, the Commonwealth Education Awards and the Global Teacher Prize. This benchmarking has enhanced the scope and audience of the awards structure and ceremony.