In a months’ time there will be tears of joy in Gauteng when the provincial winners of the National Teaching Awards (NTA) converge to witness the crowning of the best teachers in the land. Cars and cash are up for grabs at the 24th edition of the NTA which is taking place on Saturday 5 October in Boksburg.
The NTA returns to the Birchwood Hotel and Conference after years of being hosted elsewhere.
The adjudication teams have concluded the grueling three-day process in which 135 nominees were taken through their paces as they presented their work before the committees. From 3 to 5 September the Radisson Hotel and Conference Centre in Benoni was a hive of activity as teachers from all provinces checked in and out of the hotel as they competed for the top spot in each of the 15 categories.
Newly appointed Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube will, for the first time, meet and shake hands with some of the best educators in the country who were brave to showcase their work to the country through the NTA. The NTA starts at school level, through to district and provincial before the national stage where the President also gets an opportunity to convey a message of appreciation in person at the venue.
Candidates from various categories, including excellence in: Special Needs School leadership, ICT enhanced technology, teaching Physical Science fight for the first prize in the competition.
Other categories in the competition are excellence in Primary School Teaching, Excellence is Secondary School Leadership, and excellence in teaching Mathematics (FET) to name a few.
Teachers, from all nine provinces, who took part in the adjudication, often walked into the room nervous and left excited about the prospects of winning an award.
The awards are one of the ways in which the DBE acknowledges the extraordinary efforts made by excellent teachers, often in very difficult conditions.
“Teachers are the backbone of the education sector, and they must be honoured and celebrated for the hard work they put in to ensure no learner is left behind,” said Minister Siviwe Gwarube.
The NTA will take place on 5 October, which is recognized as World Teacher’s Day. More than 500 guests are expected to attend the event which is the biggest teacher appreciation occasion in the calendar of the basic education sector.