Ninety five (95) Early Childhood Development (ECD) graduates became qualified practitioners, as they obtained their SAQA ECD NQF level 5, 4 qualifications, under Motheo Training Institute Trust that pride itself in providing quality ECD training courses.
During the graduation ceremony which was held at Crystal Park (AM city lodge) on the 30th of April, 2021, graduates were encouraged to be creative, innovative and play a parental role to the learners when they get an opportunity to ply their trade.The provincial manager of ETDP, SETA, Gerald Francis stood at the podium and enlighten the graduates, saying: “As you are about to practice as teachers, please be adaptable, innovative and creative, because the curriculum of teaching and learning has changed remarkably during this fourth Industrial revolution, therefore teachers are expected to adapt. You have to use education to fight against the injustices and social ills in your communities as teachers/ professionals.
“It takes a village to raise a child. In order for you to successfully progress, you have to reinvent yourself as a graduate. It’s your responsibility to upgrade yourself so you can become a valuable asset in the educational fraternity. Please link your-self up with SETA as a graduate, because they are skills development programmes within the organisation, that are implemented to empower educators,” Francis shared.
Mr. Rantsope Meshack Molefe who’s the director of Motheo Training Institute Trust also shared encouraging words, stating that, “as graduates it’s your responsibility to fill in the voids in the education environment, because most teachers are aging and exiting the teaching field. Early Childhood Development shouldn’t be viewed as a mere foundation in the education sector, but should be viewed as a catalyst for human development. It also needs to be used as an effective instrument to propel the economy of South Africa.
“When faced with adversity, the people who are likely to thrive will be those that choose to adapt and innovate, to not only weather the storm, but to learn from it and evolve through it. So all graduates should keep all these words in mind, as they move up to their new chapters of their lives,” Mr. Molefe vividly expressed.
A graduate Zelda Neels in Jubilation expressed herself saying, “today I’m super excited because I’m a graduate, I’m representing the NQF level 4 students, I would like to thank ETDP, SETA and Motheo Training Institute Trust for making this possible, but I would also like to take this opportunity to thank three remarkable role models who gave themselves unselfishly, not only to educate me, but a lot of young people who have the desire, drive and passion to make a difference in the communities that we are surround by, and their names are Allen Hlatshwayo, Thandake Khumalo and Palesa Tsatsi ,they clearly demonstrate that were there’s a will there’s a way, I have also learned that ‘the mind is a critical thing to waste’ which comes from a poet, Mayo Angelo.”
Lastly, the coordinator of SACE,CPTD,Theo Toolo, commended the graduates and said, “we would like to congratulate the graduates and as an organisation are welcoming you them into this profession, being a teacher is very difficult, because a teacher is defined as any person who teaches the other person. So as a teacher you have a huge role because you have to be a parent to the learners you will be teaching, and remember teachers have a huge impact on the children they are teaching.”
By Matampane Raymond Mokwena
