Penreach awards commemorate teachers
Various stakeholders, community members and educators gathered last week Saturday to celebrate a tradition of excellence at Penreach.
MBOMBELA – Every year Penreach applauds educators who diligently worked towards delivering quality education in their communities, according to Ronel Oosthuizen, spokesperson for Penreach.
“The awards’ theme this year is ‘Step into the future with us’, which is centered around communities and teachers using immersive technologies, coding, robotics and augmented reality to address skill shortages, future employability and lower unemployment,” she said.
She said the prize-winning teachers form part of the Penreach programmes offered in early childhood development, numeracy and literacy, maths and science and leadership. Teachers attend teacher development workshops throughout the year, working towards enhancing their skills.
The excitement was tangible between the 1 000 preschool, primary school and high school teachers attending. The Simunye Cultural Group from Hopeville welcomed teachers to a joyful day, filled with top-notch performances by Artreach.
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Penreach took this opportunity to announce its newest project developments for 2020, the Penreach STEAM@Shalamuka Science Centre, which will act as a provincial hub for shared learning in vital learning areas.
The MEC for the Department of Education (DoE) in the province, Bonakele Majuba, addressed the crowd and expressed that, “The education sector has begun the process of transforming our curriculum by introducing new and exciting subjects such as aviation studies, maritime, and coding and robotics”.
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The MEC added that the DoE supports Penreach in the common goal of delivering quality education. “We therefore salute Penreach for empowering our teachers and enabling them to unleash their full potential. We are fully aware of the impact of the programme and their contribution towards the quest to emancipate our communities from the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality,” Majuba said.
Oosthuizen confirmed that the awards are judged each year with stringent criteria, where professionalism must be demonstrated. It includes meeting curriculum standards and providing a stimulating teaching-and-learning environment.
“Our children are the backbone of this nation. It is therefore important that our schools must be centres of excellence,” Majuba concluded.
