27/07/2021
THE LONGEST SERVING TEACHER PASSED AWAY
The Mpumalanga Department of Education is deeply saddened by the passing on of Ms. Nonsikelelo Qwelane .
A recipient of the Presidential Order of the Baobab in Bronze in recognition of her outstanding contribution to education in South Africa and for being an inspiration and role model to both young and old.
In 2018 Gogo Qwelane received an MEC Special Award from the Mpumalanga Department of Education for her commitment and dedication to teaching.
Having served as a teacher for more than 79 years, Gogo Qwelane was 100 years old when she passed away.
Born in 1920 at Engcobo in the Eastern Cape, she trained as a teacher and started teaching at the age of 19 in the Eastern Cape.
She later also taught in the Western Cape, Gauteng and Mpumalanga.
Qwelane’s love for teaching was complemented by her unending quest to learn and acquire knowledge.
Her eagerness to improve her skills and knowledge saw her obtain an MA degree from the University of South Africa (Unisa) at the ripe age of 60. Her colleagues once described her as “a walking geography textbook.”
In her long teaching career, she had taught and mentored many community leaders including the late Former Chief Minister of the former Kangwane Government, Dr Enos Mabuza.
Besides her involvement with school children, Gogo Qwelane also participated in other community organisations such as the informal women’s forum.
After retirement from the teaching service in the public sector, Gogo Qwelane didn’t want to stop teaching; she decided to offer her teaching services at private schools such as Metropolitan International College in White River where she taught her favourite subject Geography to matric learners.
Her pupils consistently achieved good results.
"My job as a teacher has never been about money, but about the love of education; it is my calling and as long as I can still teach and has the energy, l will continue to teach," she once said.
The MEC for Education, Mr Bonakele Majuba remembered her with these words:
"The contribution that Gogo Qwelane has made in the teaching profession is unmatched.
She was a heroine and a true embodiment of a conduit for knowledge and values as she did not only teach the curriculum as prescribed but also played the role of a parent to her learners very well.
We wish her family all the strength they need right now as we express our sincere condolences to them and all her loved ones.
She will be laid to rest on Thursday, 29 July 2021 in White River in the City of Mbombela Local Municipality.
May Her Soul Rest in Peace".
