Institute supports ‘torchbearers of education’

The Molo Mhlaba Institute in Harare has launched two fellowship programmes for teachers to learn about Montessori teaching methods and inclusive education.

The year-long Queen Modjadji fellowship programme is designed for unemployed teachers and includes ten modules. The two-year-long Queen Nzinga fellowship is for teachers who are employed in schools but want to develop new skills and learn about inclusive teaching methods.

Twenty-five participants have enrolled for these two programmes

Montessori education is based on self-directed activity, hands-on learning and collaborative play. In Montessori classrooms, children make creative choices in their learning, while the classroom and the teacher offer age-appropriate activities to guide the process.

The institute's director, Dr Rethabile Mashale-Sonibare, said the programmes were a response to an acute shortage of African Montessori teachers in areas lacking quality education.

She said the training was endorsed by the South African Council for Educators and included online and in-person components, and the participants were supported by mentors and coaches.

“I believe that with a focus on equity, innovation and sustainability - the Molo Mhlaba Institute is poised to revolutionise early learning education and empower future educators to make a lasting impact in their communities,” she said.

“We firmly believe that teachers are the torchbearers of education, and we need to support and invest in their career and personal development so that they can make a lasting impact on the children that they are teaching.”

Dr Sonibare said the institute was seeing an overwhelming number of pupils who were grappling with learning disorders over and above the social issues they faced in their communities.

She said the institute wanted to support teachers to help children believe in themselves, and they hoped to have 100 graduates from the fellowships in the next three years, helping to make inclusive education the norm in schools.