Programme Directors,

Minister of Basic Education, Ms Siviwe Gwarube,

Deputy Minister of Basic Education, Dr Reginah Mhaule,

Ministers and Deputy Ministers,

MECs,

Members of Parliament,

Representatives of teacher unions,

Representatives of business,

Representatives of School Governing Body Associations,

Members of the National Teaching Awards adjudication panels,

Our sponsors and partners,

Distinguished guests,

Our esteemed educators,

And all the teachers of South Africa,

Good morning.

It is an honour to be here among some of the finest teachers in our country.

Standing before you today, I am reminded of the teacher who had the greatest influence on my own life.

When I was at school, I was an inquisitive learner.

I asked many questions and, from time to time, challenged my teachers on some of the subjects they were teaching.

I did not do so out of disrespect. I wanted to understand.

But perhaps I asked one question too many, because some of my teachers felt that I should be expelled from school.

My school principal, Mr Ntsandeni, thought differently.

He saw something in me that others did not see.

He intervened and protected me from being expelled.

Perhaps he understood that curiosity should not be punished, but guided and encouraged.

I have often wondered how different my life might have been had he not intervened.

I will forever remember Mr Ntsandeni as the most outstanding teacher in my life.

He did more than keep me in school. He gave me the opportunity to continue learning, to develop and to become the person I am today.

If Mr Ntsandeni were still alive, I would have wanted him to be here with us today.

I would have wanted to present him with a National Teaching Award – not only for what he did for me, but for understanding what lies at the heart of teaching: seeing the promise in a young person and giving that promise the opportunity to flourish.

That is what great teachers do.

They see potential in a learner that others may overlook.

They recognise possibility where others may see only difficulty.

Sometimes, by believing in one young person at a decisive moment, a teacher can change the entire course of that person’s life.

There are many South Africans who can point to a teacher who did the same for them.

It may have been a teacher who recognised an ability that they did not yet see in themselves.

It may have been a teacher who encouraged them when they were ready to give up.

Or it may simply have been a teacher who said: “I believe in you.”

The influence of such a teacher lasts long after we have left the classroom.

That is why the National Teaching Awards are so important.

They give our nation an opportunity to recognise and celebrate educators and school leaders who demonstrate excellence, innovation, dedication and measurable impact in the education of our children.

This year’s awards take place under the theme:

“Uniting for Excellence: Elevating Achievement, Empowering Educators to Shape South Africa’s Future.”

This theme reminds us that excellence in education is a shared endeavour.

It also reminds us that the future of our country is being shaped every day, in every classroom, by every lesson taught and by every learner encouraged to succeed.

Today’s ceremony begins our celebration of World Teachers’ Day, which takes place on the 5th of October.

Let this be the moment when the whole country turns its attention to the classroom and declare that we honour those who teach.

These awards show that excellence is found across every phase of education, across different subjects and in schools serving vastly different communities.

They show that excellence can be found in a rural school with limited resources, in a township school confronting difficult social conditions and in a well-resourced urban school.

Our responsibility is to ensure that such excellence is recognised, supported and replicated.

A method that succeeds in Limpopo should inspire a teacher in the Eastern Cape.

A leadership approach that turns around a school in the Western Cape should be shared with principals in KwaZulu-Natal and across the country.

Good practice should not remain a secret.

It should become part of the common wealth of our education system.

No teacher succeeds alone.

Behind every excellent classroom is a principal who protects teaching time, a district official who provides meaningful support, a province that delivers learning materials on time, and families and communities that ensure that children attend school at an early age.

By the same measure, teachers cannot be expected to overcome every weakness in the education system on their own.

Government must provide safe and suitable school infrastructure.

We must reduce unnecessary administrative burdens, strengthen professional development and ensure that teachers receive the support they need throughout their careers.

We must address overcrowding, protect teaching time and act firmly against violence, intimidation and disruption in our schools.

We must create the conditions in which teachers are able to do what they entered the profession to do: to teach.

The National Teaching Awards were launched in 2000 by the late Minister of Education, Professor Kader Asmal, to acknowledge, appreciate and celebrate excellence in teaching.

It is therefore fitting that we present the Kader Asmal Lifetime Achievement Award to honour educators who have devoted decades of their lives to the development of South Africa’s children and communities.

Professor Asmal believed in education as an instrument of social transformation.

He believed in intellectual rigour, professional excellence and an education system that expands opportunity and challenges inequality.

To this year’s recipient, we say:

Thank you for giving so much of your life to education.

Your legacy lives in the learners you have taught, the schools you have strengthened and the teachers you have inspired to follow in your footsteps.

Teachers are central to the transformation of our education system and to the development of our country.

If we want better educational outcomes, we must invest in better teaching.

We must attract talented young people into the profession.

We must support new teachers as they enter the classroom.

We must enable experienced teachers to continue developing their skills.

And we must restore teaching to its rightful place as one of the most respected professions in our society.

The purpose of educational excellence is ultimately to improve the life chances of every learner.

The true measure of our progress is the child who learns to read for meaning, the young person who masters mathematics and science, and the learner who leaves school with knowledge, confidence, dignity and real opportunities.

This is why foundational literacy and numeracy must remain among our foremost national priorities.

If a child cannot read with understanding in the early years of schooling, every stage of their education becomes more difficult.

Every teacher, every principal, every district and every education department must therefore be focused on the essential task of improving learning outcomes.

We are living through a period of profound technological change.

Artificial intelligence and other digital technologies are changing how people work, communicate and learn.

They hold great promise for education.

They can give teachers access to new resources, help them prepare lessons, support learners with different needs and bring knowledge from around the world into the classroom.

But technology also presents risks.

Our learners must be able to distinguish knowledge from misinformation.

They must learn to question what they see, to think independently and to use technology responsibly, safely and ethically.

Artificial intelligence may be able to provide an answer, but a teacher helps a learner understand the question.

Technology can transmit information, but it cannot replace the encouragement, discipline, empathy and human connection that a good teacher provides.

The teacher remains essential.

Today, we recognise the more than 133 teachers who participated in the national adjudication process here in Gauteng earlier this month.

We congratulate all the finalists and all those who will receive awards.

The Minister’s Special Award, #MyTeacher, gives learners an opportunity to tell the nation about teachers who have made a difference in their lives.

This is particularly meaningful because the most important evidence of a teacher’s impact is not always found in a report or examination result.

Sometimes it is found in the words of a learner who says:

“My teacher saw me.”

“My teacher encouraged me.”

“My teacher believed in me.”

We thank all the learners who nominated their teachers.

To all the finalists and nominees: whether or not your name is announced today, reaching this stage is itself an important recognition of your contribution.

Two years ago, at the 24th National Teaching Awards, I said:

“All of us are who we are because of the teachers we once had.”

These words have particular meaning this year as we mark the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Soweto uprising.

We rightly honour the courage of the young people who took to the streets to reject an education system designed to diminish their humanity and limit their future.

But we should also remember the teachers who, during times of repression and instability, provided guidance, knowledge and leadership.

Constrained by the injustice of Bantu Education, and often themselves subjected to repression, many teachers became sources of strength and wisdom to young people.

They kept the flame of learning alive in dark times.

We remember the teachers who were imprisoned, tortured, banned, exiled or killed for their role in the struggle.

They understood that teaching is never only about what happens in a textbook.

It is also about the values by which we live and the society we seek to build.

Even in our democracy, we continue to look to teachers for guidance, leadership and moral courage.

Our country needs such leadership as we confront social ills like gender-based violence and femicide.

The violence perpetrated against the women and girls of South Africa is inhuman and intolerable.

Women should not have to live in fear.

Girls must be safe in their homes, in their communities and in every place of learning.

We cannot tolerate sexual harassment, abuse or exploitation by teachers, staff members or fellow learners.

Every school must be a place of safety.

Every educator must uphold the highest standards of professional conduct.

But we must go further.

Education must help us prevent violence before it happens.

We must teach young people about respect, dignity, equality and consent.

We must equip them to resolve conflict without violence and to build healthy interpersonal relationships.

We must teach boys and young men that strength is not demonstrated through domination or abuse, but through respect, responsibility and self-control.

We need to strengthen age-appropriate life-skills education from early childhood development through to high school.

This must be an intergenerational effort.

Teachers, parents, relatives, religious leaders, traditional leaders and community elders must work together to raise a generation defined by mutual respect, tolerance and equality.

For generations, teachers have been regarded as standard-bearers of integrity and development in our communities.

The teachers of today must carry these values forward.

They must prepare young people not merely to find their place in the world, but to change the world for the better.

As I conclude, I wish to thank the sponsors and partners who support the National Teaching Awards.

Your contribution demonstrates that education is not solely a responsibility of government.

It is a responsibility shared by the whole of society and an investment in the future of our nation.

Congratulations once again to all the recipients.

Your achievement belongs not only to you, but also to your learners, colleagues, families and communities.

We wish you strength as you prepare learners for the final examinations.

To the class of 2026, these final weeks matter.

Use them well.

Remain focused, support one another and draw on the guidance of your teachers.

These awards celebrate achievement, but they also recognise potential.

It is therefore appropriate that we congratulate the Minister of Basic Education, Ms Siviwe Gwarube, on being named among the TIME100 Next list of the world’s most influential rising stars.

This recognition is an honour for the Minister and for South Africa.

It is also a challenge: to turn recognition into results and promise into progress for every learner in every school.

Finally, to the teachers of our country:

Continue the great work you are doing.

Continue to equip our children with knowledge.

Continue to nurture their curiosity.

Continue to instil in them the values of democracy, equality and mutual respect.

Continue to guide them and continue to believe in them.

South Africa’s future is being shaped in our classrooms.

It is being shaped in the mind of every child who learns to read.

It is being shaped in the confidence of every learner who discovers their ability.

And it is being shaped by every teacher who refuses to give up on a child.

Thank you for teaching our children.

Thank you for believing in our children.

And thank you for building our nation.

I thank you.