Nkandla’s hero – local teacher finalist in 2015 Teacher’s Day compo
Ntandoyakhe Ntuli was nominated by one of his pupils, Abulele Jali who returned to high school when he was 20-years-old.
A HIGH SCHOOL teacher from Nkandla is among eight teachers from all over the country who are finalists in the 2015 Teacher’s Day competition.
Ntandoyakhe Zomakahle Ntuli, a teacher at Bizimali Secondary School in Nkandla, was nominated and has made it into the finals of the ‘Celebrate the real heroes this Teacher’s Day’ themed competition.
The annual event, a product of the Woolworths Educational Programme and MySchool, is now in its fifth year and promotes UNESCO’s World Teacher’s Day on 5 October by inviting South African children to recognise and appreciate teachers who made a life-changing difference to them.
Ntuli was nominated by one of his pupils, Abulele Jali who returned to high school when he was 20-years-old after a self-destructive period in his life.
Abulele wanted gain a better Matric result and, two years ago, Ntuli insisted he re-enter the school at Grade 10.
Ntuli was determined that Abulele would succeed, as he encouraged him tirelessly to help him achieve his goal.
With success now on Abulele’s horizon, he credits Ntuli with motivating learners to withstand the hardships of rural deprivation and to fight for a brighter future through education.
Well deserved
A record number of learners nominated more than 13 000 teachers, from which a panel of independent judges selected four high school and four primary school finalists.
Ntuli will soon be joining the seven other finalists in Cape Town to attend a meet and greet event with the judges and an external auditor who will then select the first, second and third place winners, which will be announced on Friday.
As a finalist he has already won a R1 000 Woolies gift card and a laptop while Abulele will receive a R5 000 gift card and Bizimali Secondary School was awarded R5 000 in cash.
The overall winner will get a R50 000 giftcard, while second and third place will get R20 000 and R10 000 respectively.
