Pretoria - The overall winner of this year's National Teacher Awards will walk away with a brand new car, thanks to one of the sponsors - General Motors SA.
Announcing the main prize in Pretoria on Wednesday, a day before the awards gala, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said the prize was a well-deserved reward for an outstanding teacher who has worked selflessly, often for long hours and under very difficult conditions, to improve the overall performance of a school and its learners.
Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe and Motshekga will this evening acknowledge and salute the selfless contribution of the country's best teachers during a ceremony to be held in Sandton.
The event will be held under the theme 'Celebrating the heroes of yesterday and today, inspiring the heroes of tomorrow'.
The awards will recognise outstanding teaching in the following categories:
Excellence in Primary School Teaching
Excellence in Secondary School Teaching
Excellence in Primary School Leadership
Excellence in Secondary School Leadership
Excellence in Grade R Teaching
Excellence in Special Needs Teaching
Excellence in Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET)
Lifetime Achievement Award
Via Afrika Publishers People's Choice Award (new category)
Kader Asmal Excellence Award (new category
"These awards, specifically the People's Choice award, will provide a perfect opportunity for all South Africans, most of whom have undoubtedly been in contact with a teacher at some stage in their lives, to publicly thank and celebrate the heroes of the teaching profession, a profession that gives birth to all the other professions," said Motshekga.
She also acknowledged and thanked all the sponsors who found it befitting to support the awards.
"The generous sponsors include the Telkom Foundation, SABC Education, Vodacom, Intel and The Star Newspaper, among many others who donated prizes to make these awards possible."
Presenting the grand prize, GMSA Head of Public Policy and Corporate Affairs, Shibishi Maruatona, said that while the primary focus of General Motors was the assembly and distribution of vehicles, the company was equally committed to making a meaningful and sustainable contribution towards the upliftment of South Africans.
"This passion is founded upon a steadfast and relentless drive to help transform the country through the provision of value-adding support in key areas such as education. Over the past five years, GMSA has invested more than R90 million in scholarships and bursaries to employees, their children and students," said Maruatona.
