Tonight, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) have announced the names of the top teachers in the province.
The awards recognise excellence in teaching and education leadership and provide an opportunity to showcase and celebrate excellence throughout the education system.
The department is honouring 44 regional and provincial winners and have presented awards in ten categories.
The awards follow a rigorous selection process in all eight education districts of the province and regional finals involving clusters of districts.
About 32 000 teachers in the Western Cape were eligible for nomination. The names of the provincial winners will go forward to the national competition.
The awards recognised excellence in the following ten categories:
- Excellence in Primary School Teaching
- Excellence in Secondary School Teaching
- Excellence in Grade R Teaching
- Excellence in Special Needs Teaching
- Excellence in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) – Enhanced Teaching
- Excellence in Primary School Leadership
- Excellence in Secondary School Leadership
- Lifetime Achievement Award (Minimum of 30 years without a break of service in a public school/centre in South Africa)
Two new awards have been introduced this year:
- Excellence in teaching Science
- Excellence in teaching Mathematics
The WCED awarded certificates of excellence to cluster winners, along with an ICT voucher to be redeemed at a reputable ICT provider. In addition to the prizes awarded, the schools of the finalists also received R5 000 that must be used for towards professional development of the whole teaching staff.
The provincial winners tonight have also received certificates of excellence, along with ICT vouchers to be redeemed at a reputable ICT provider, the value of the vouchers at provincial level:
- Winners – R12 000
- Runners-up – R7 000
In addition winning schools will each receive R7 500 that must be used for professional development for the whole staff.
