CLASSROOM CORNER
Teacher of the Week
Teacher: Kesval Govender
School: Woolhope Secondary School, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape
KESVAL GOVENDER from Woolhope Secondary School in the Eastern Cape says he was forced to be a teacher by the financial difÂficulties that his parents experienced.
He has grown to love teaching and as a people’s person, he loves working with and encouraging the development of young people’s potential whether in academics, sport, arts and culture.
He derives pleasure when he receives past learners who return to school to share their successes post school life.
The major challenge is the popularity of the school that usualÂly results in overcrowding. To solve this challenge he uses speÂcial rooms and has asked the local education district office to supply the school with five prefabricated classrooms to place these learners.
He feels that his commitment to transformation has contribÂuted to his success as a principal.
During his tenure as the school princiÂpal, he put in place programs, measures and policies that have transformed Woolhope Secondary School, from a former InÂdian-only school to a truly South African school that embraces diversity in all aspects.
He regards his participation in the National Teachers Awards (NTA) as a highlight of his career. It is an affirmation of his contributions to education in the Nelson Mandela District and Eastern Cape at large.
He plans to continue working with NGOs in the education sector.
Woolhope Secondary School, situated in Malabar, Port Elizabeth, opened its doors for quality education on 19 January 1971. 451 learners of Indian origin enrolled on that first day.
The staff consisted of just 22 and today, Woolhope is a thriving and truly a non-racial, multi-cultural school with a learner population of 971 and a staff complement of 42.
Where as it started with a learner base that was purely Indian (as per the apartheid laws of the that time). Today it is truly a modern South African School, with learners coming from all parts of the city and from all ethnic backgrounds.
(Compiled by Inside Education staff)
