Dr Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, Chancellor of Nelson Mandela University, told graduates at the recent graduation ceremony of the Faculties of Law and Education that they are graduating, “at a time when the world and our nation are faced with considerable precarity and complexity. 

“Your final year is notoriously the toughest, but nothing could have prepared me for what mine had in store,” reflects Bachelor of Education graduate Zintle Ntlentle.

Caitlyn De Beer from Bethelsdorp is an inspiration to many. She persevered, working and studying full-time, as well as having a baby and completing her Advanced Diploma in TVT in one year, passing all her modules and completing her qualification.

Lonwabo Mthetho, a security warden at the Department of Correctional Services, has been studying while working full-time, for his Advanced Diploma in TVET to become an electrical engineering educator.

The future of education in Africa is rooted in the continent’s rich past, using indigenous methodologies of hands-on, informal learning that empower both learner and teacher, a Nelson Mandela University-led anthology argues.

Inclusive Education and Educational Psychology professor Cina Mosito was a panellist in the presentation entitled "A social model for education - case study: Teaching for All" at the recent three-day 2025 Basic Education Lekgotla held in Johannesburg.

The critical role of language and personal knowledge in the classroom – and how this richly impacts professional teacher development – is the driving force behind Faculty of Education associate professor Mathabo Khau’s involvement in a successful global research project.

 

The release of the results of the Class of 2024 provides us with an opportune moment to celebrate the achievements of our learners while also reflecting on the disparities that continue to plague our education system.  

Nelson Mandela University heartily congratulates the matric class of 2024 on their outstanding pass rate of 87.3%. Not only is the pass rate an exceptional achievement, but a historic feat as the country recorded its highest number of matric passes at more than 615 000 learners.

“Knowing the extent of the mathematics crisis in South Africa, I wanted to evaluate the impact of the Techno-Blended Model (TBM) for self-directed learning at school level, developed by the Govan Mbeki Mathematics Development Centre (GMMDC) at Nelson Mandela University.”

Reasons to be Proud - #R2bP: The newly conceptualised Next Generation and Emerging Researchers Symposium, hosted recently by the National Research Foundation (NRF) saw Nelson Mandela University’s Makhosi Madimabe-Mofokeng win the best poster presentation and overall winner.  

In a vibrant homage to Heritage Month, Mandela University’s Secondary School Education department, represented by Head of Department Dr Ayanda Simayi and lecturer Makhosi Madibame, hosted an exciting week of festivities at Sakhisizwe High School in Zwide in September.

Parents of autistic children and teachers with autistic children in their classroom have fresh hope in the shape of a new Autism Niche Area launched at Nelson Mandela University this week.

“The purpose is to create schools that meet the needs of learners and families by integrating community resources and support. It also offers services, such as health care, afterschool programmes and other services that would bring improvement to the schools,” Dr Silindile Malangeni said on the third day of Nelson Mandela University's Research Week. 

Ndzondelelo High School maths teacher Vuyolwethu Qweqwe has done it again, claiming the coveted title of the province’s best mathematics teacher.

A group of university teaching students are ensuring their studies don’t only benefit their own progress but instead help to provide vital supplies for a crime-plagued daycare outfit to continue servicing the community.

Mandela University Sociology doctoral student Osabuohien Clifford Uwuoruya is the winner of the recent institutional SANORD 3MT competition, with the runner-up and People’s Choice winner Zizipho Mbokazi Ngayeka (Chemistry) and the other People’s Choice winner Ezekiel Majola (Education).

Professor Logamurthie Athiemoolam of Mandela University’s Faculty of Education recently delivered his professorial inaugural lecture entitled "Re-thinking our pedagogical approaches in teacher education to subvert the neoliberal stronghold on higher education".

There is an ongoing debate about whether examinations at schools and universities are an appropriate way to test the knowledge and understanding of learners and students. Are exams archaic and, if they are, what is the alternative?

Every five years, the international Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) provides an assessment of how well grade 4 learners around the world read for meaning. And every time South Africa participates, the results are shocking. In the 2021 survey, more than 80% of South African fourth-graders weren’t able to make sense of what they were reading in the test.

Mandela University’s staff member in Learning Development Selwyn Milborrow, has co-authored another book. This time together with American author and academic, Janet Bostic-Williams from Salt Lake City in the USA, on their shared admiration for Elvis Presley.

The Faculty of Education (FOE) recently launched their first collective book reading initiative, with the hopes of bringing staff within the Faculty together to read, exchange ideas, and generate knowledge.

The British Council in partnership with the Eastern Cape Department of Education (ECDoE) and Nelson Mandela University recently launched the Teaching For All programme on the University’s Second Avenue Campus.

When Hermione Kemp sat behind the doctoral degree recipients at the Nelson Mandela University (NMU) graduation in 2014, she wondered what it would be like to one day sit in the front row donning the red academic gown.

Nelson Mandela University (NMU) education lecturer Rochelle Thorne’s research for her doctoral degree put the spotlight on the benefits of group work and a pupil’s home language as a resource for learning.

Mandela University’s Faculty of Education’s Primary School Education Department and the Arts and Social Sciences Discipline at Missionvale Campus with a guest lecture on “Gender and Sexual Diversity through the lens of Human Rights”.

The 27^th of February marked a momentous occasion in South Africa’s remembrance of one of its struggle heroes, as Mandela University hosted its second Robert Sobukwe Institutional Public Lecture.

Dr Muki Moeng, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Learning and Teaching is Nelson Mandela University’s most senior alumnus. A true servant leader, her love of education and compassion for humanity are a powerful combination – and her story is one of unparalleled achievement against all odds. 

Mandela University recently visited Moi University in Kenya in response to an invitation from the East and South African-German Centre of Excellence for Educational Research Methodologies and Management (CERM-ESA).

South Africa has a shortage of teachers, so how do we get the teachers we need for the education we want?

 

Mandela University student Jason Sheehan has been selected for the Eastern Cape team to compete at the SA Fencing Championships in September in Gauteng, after only being active in the sport since March this year.

Young Muki Moeng’s first teaching tools were an old car bonnet and a piece of charcoal. After class, to mitigate the effects of disrupted education during the height of apartheid, the Graaff-Reinet teenager started study groups, helping friends to revise their schoolwork.

Decorated Madibaz water polo goalkeeper Meghan Maartens will be in a defensive mood when she leaves for her next international assignment early next month.

Mandela University’s Dr Ayanda Simayi, lecturer in the Faculty of Education, recently presented two teaching models as part of a community engagement project to empower learners to overcome cultural avoidance about menstruation and sexual education at Swartkops Primary School in Gqeberha on 29 May 2023.

Balancing rugby and study commitments was no real hardship for Nelson Mandela University student Siphelo Sanyinyi. After all, the Madibaz first team player had already overcome far greater obstacles in his young life.

Nelson Mandela Univerisity Faculty of Education Dean Dr Muki Moeng outlines the benefits of being a comprehensive university.

Science lecturer in Mandela University’s Education Faculty Dr Asanda Simayi, believes in science education linked to cultural practices and indigenous knowledge to make a difference to societal challenges.

Despite the many policy reforms and investment in education for almost 30 years of democracy, we witness less commitment to its improvement.

A Gqeberha educator is hoping to find solutions for student teachers faced with the difficulty of teaching a tough subject to young pupils in isiXhosa.

A love of nature and a passion for teaching have inspired a Nelson Mandela University academic’s mission to educate young children about the importance of creating a sustainable living environment.

Growing up without a father, Eastern Cape education expert Obakeng Kagola recognised the importance of male role models in early childhood and has dedicated his career to creating equitable space for them in the Early Childhood Development (ECD) sector.

Enlightening. Empowering. Transformative. Fulfilling. Humbling. Spiritual. Reviving. These were some of the words used by teachers to describe their profession during an appreciation luncheon hosted by Nelson Mandela University’s Faculty of Education in celebration of World Teachers’ Day on Wednesday (05 October 2022).

Reasons to be Proud - #R2bP: Mandela Uni second-year Education student, Kenan Davids has won the first prize of R50 000 in a short film competition for students under the theme of “the beauty of the Dutch language”. 

Student teachers need to be exposed to a curriculum that includes indigenous knowledge in order to develop into multiculturally conscious educators.

Reasons to be Proud - #R2bP: Seven local Nelson Mandela University students have been awarded the opportunity to attend the Technische Universitat Braunschweig (TU Braunschweig) International Summer School for German Language and Culture.

Nelson Mandela University launched its part-time offering of its Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programmes this week – a move that has been welcomed as boding well with continuing efforts to boost teaching capacity.

Nelson Mandela University launched a new offering of part-time Postgraduate Certificate in Education programmes at the institution’s North Campus, in Gqeberha, on Monday 6 June 2022.

A heart-breaking picture of a 16-year-old girl accepting an honours degree on behalf of her dead mother has left many South Africans in tears.

You too can make your life-time change” says Ayanda Simayi, whose PhD research, developed a teaching strategy that enabled her rural teacher colleagues to name initially avoided sexual concepts in the Life Sciences curriculum.

Under the umbrella of celebrating excellence, Nelson Mandela University recognised its top academic, professional, administrative and service staff in the categories of research, teaching, engagement, creative outputs and institutional support on 23 November.

Reasons to be Proud - #R2bP: Education’s Prof Mathabo Khau is one of only 29 chosen from 114 applicants to participate in the Future Professors Programme Phase 2 Cohort 1 of the Department of Higher Education and Training  (DHET).

Nelson Mandela University's Executive Dean of the Faculty of Education was interviewed by ETV News on World Teachers' Day, 5 October 2021. She speaks about teaching during a global pandemic.

Reasons to be Proud - #R2bP: Bachelor of Education honours graduate, Dylan Mackenzie, has been appointed as foreign academic director for the Limai Chinese American International School in Beijing, China.

My personal experience of having worked with young adults in higher education for more than 30 years is that students who grew up in adverse social economic circumstances but who had the benefit of being exposed to reading from an early age, generally excelled despite their circumstances.

Since time immemorial, amabali (stories) and iintsomi (folktales) have been one of the leading ways through which to transfer knowledge from one generation to the next. Having been somewhat neglected as a critical form of knowledge creation or development in the mainstream education system, there are ongoing efforts to highlight its importance in children’s development, in particular.

An exciting new partnership is on the cards between Nelson Mandela University and Ubuntu Pathways, with the institutions effectively seeking to cement a longstanding informal collaboration that spans many years.

Reasons to be Proud - #R2bP: Fourth year Education student and Madibaz Sport Student Assistant, Thabiso Letselebe was recently appointed to the International University Sport Federation (FISU) Media & Communications International Working Committee.

Barriers to learning for students in the TVET college sector, was the focus of the research done by Master’s in Education graduate, Nontutuzelo Magingxa, 46.