Strubenvale Primary School teacher Jemton Chinyengetere has bid farewell to the school after 17 years of dedicated service.

Chinyengetere’s journey saw him grow from the school’s cricket coach into a respected mathematics teacher who played a key role in numerous learner achievements.

His journey in teaching began when he realised he had the gift of being able to explain difficult mathematics concepts to his fellow exam candidates while preparing for his O-Level exam.

“I would assist other candidates, and they attained excellent results. I realised I could teach other people as a part-time job,” he said.

After graduating from the University of Zimbabwe in 2008, he moved to Springs, where he started working as a part-time cricket coach and physical educator in 2009.

Three years later, he began working as the school’s new mathematics teacher and preparing Grade Seven science learners for the ASTRO quiz.

He recalled a standout moment when the ASTRO quiz team did exceptionally well in the provincial round.

“Three of our Grade Sevens were first, second and third in the District Mathematics Olympiad 2024. Two of them were number sixth and 13th in the provincial round,” he said with pride.

Chinyengetere has witnessed the school’s growth in the available resources for teachers, including the use of technology through tablets and projectors.

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“Learners needed a lot more encouragement after the Covid-19 pandemic. As a teacher, I have become more equipped to teach learners from all kinds of backgrounds with different levels of cognitive abilities,” he explained.

For Chinyengetere, the most rewarding part of teaching at Strubenvale is seeing learners perform well in primary school and then excel in matric.

He stressed the importance of being humble and encouraged young learners to persevere and strive to achieve the best results.

“In my opinion, a hard worker gets luckier. Learners must strive to achieve their goals.

“The staff at Strubenvale Primary, not only the teachers, must do their best to produce a conducive school environment so that the learners can grow up to be top contributing citizens in South Africa and as global citizens to the world,” he said.