Honouring local educators

The director of Ugu District’s Department of Education Mfundi Sibiya could be retiring before the end of 2024.
This was revealed by the KZN Department of Education’s head of department Nkosinathi Ngcobo during the Ugu district thanksgiving and prayer day held at Port Shepstone High School last Thursday.

Ngcobo told Fever that although they cannot say much about Sibiya’s looming retirement, the district director has led well for more than 10 years.

He said the management of the Ugu District Department of Education held the ceremony to thank God for the things the district has achieved.
He said the district decided to invite everyone who has contributed to their success such as retired principals and teachers, circuit managers, and more.

“The main aim was to thank God for being with the district always, to show respect to the retired and current employees of the district. The Ugu district excels when it comes to matric because firstly they have been number one for four years in the province and they represent us as a province when it comes to the top 10 districts at a national level,” said Ngcobo.

Sibiya said they wanted to thank God for life and the work that they do.

“We also wanted to thank God for the unity and the working relationship between the district, province and national departments of education and the way they support us as schools, principals, and teachers. We are here to express gratitude for even the smallest of things. Yes, our job is to produce great results for the district but we keep in mind that the prayers we were taught back at home are the key to all the things we want to achieve here on earth. We are here to also remind retired teachers from the Ugu district of the strong foundation that they laid for us to be where we are today,” he said.

Sibiya emphasised that the Ugu has been the top performing district in KZN for four consecutive years and is in eighth position at a national level.

He said the national Department of Education recently awarded them R100 000, computers and laptops that will be used by officials.
He added that their secret to being the top-performing district in the province is prayer.

Speaking on behalf of retired teachers, Dr Siyabonga Mpofana who started teaching in 1970 said teachers of today are not the same as the teachers they had back when he was a principal.
“Back in our days, when the bell rang, we did not beg children to go to class but all I had to do was to step out of my office and stand there, and children would run into class. It is a pity that children now have rights that contradict disciplining them as teachers so advising teachers of today is a tricky thing,” said Mpofana.

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