The Matim Institute of Excellence in Mthath, Eastern Cape, has called on teachers in the province to emulate their counterparts whose professionalism has been recognised beyond borders.

Ntombozuko Mkizwana received the African Union Continental Teaching and the African Union Continental Awards for Excellence in Rural Teaching in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The 49-year-old deputy principal at the Nelson Mandela School of Science and Technology received the awards at the Pan African Conference on Teacher Education, from which she returned recently.

The institute’s director Lubabalo Mpongwana explains, “Our intention is to produce more role players in terms of promoting the teaching profession and this program is part of the national teacher appreciation program. So, it also involves the national teaching awards. So, the teacher has been part of that program, which starts from the district up to the national level. She has represented last ther the province and won the best teacher of the country. So, we are happy to have taken that global stage.”

SADTU proudly celebrates our member and 2024 National Teaching Awards Best Teacher winner, Comrade Ntombozuko Mkizwana, who has been invited by the African Union Continental Awards panel to represent South Africa at the Pan African Conference on Teacher Education (PACTED) in… pic.twitter.com/qsOZgRD0hM

— SADTU National. (@SadtuNational) October 1, 2025