More than 20 Gauteng teachers across various categories were honoured by Gauteng provincial MEC for education, Matome Chiloane, during an award ceremony held at Chief Albert Luthuli Primary School in Benoni on Thursday.

This comes after Chiloane hosted the 23rd National Teaching Awards, in honour of the work being done by some of the province’s dedicated and hard-working teachers.

Chiloane said it was an honour for him to be able to celebrate the stellar work of those who have dedicated their lives to serving school children on a daily basis, sometimes under strenuous circumstances.

“This is my second year hosting the awards and I must say this is big. Last year’s one was quite small. This shows how serious these awards is being taken by the department... It is a privilege to come and celebrate with you the many extra-ordinary contributions. We gather here to recognise and appreciate the remarkable role that teachers play in shaping the minds and futures of our children,” the MEC said in his address.

This year marked the National Teaching Awards’ 23rd year, serving as an annual platform to acknowledge and recognise the outstanding contributions made by teachers from public ordinary schools in nurturing young minds.

The MEC also emphasised that the quality of the education system rises and falls on the quality of teachers, adding that the ceremony was a testament to the continuous improvement of their education system.

“I have always said that the quality of education rises and falls on the quality of teachers. Today’s gathering is testament that ours is a system that is forever improving. The National Teaching Awards enters its 23rd year of implementation, serving as an annual platform to acknowledge and recognise outstanding contribution made by teachers from public ordinary schools,” he said.

Over the years, the awards have inspired teachers to succeed, build resilience, and shine, with this year’s awards held under the theme: “Invest in People, Prioritise Teachers.”

He added that as modern technologies take centre stage, where information is readily accessible, teachers provided the wisdom and guidance necessary to navigate this vast sea of knowledge.

Chiloane also expressed his heartfelt gratitude to all the stakeholders involved in education, including Cluster Adjudicators, Administrators, Provincial Adjudicating teams, Organised labour, SGB formations, GDE Business and Social partners, Sponsors, Senior managers, and School principals.

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Outstanding teachers celebrated at 23rd National Teaching Awards