Aimed at the world of managers, MANCOSA has always been known as an institution that offers management related programmes. The institution has recently branched off into the educational sector and held the official launch of the MANCOSA [School of Education], on Wednesday 1st February 2017.
The launch took place at the Dr Chota Motala Auditorium, and was based around the first postgraduate certificate programme that is being offered in the current intake. The Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Training (PGCE) will be offered to students in Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town respectively.
Professor Yusuf Karodia, Principal of MANCOSA and an ex-educator and lecturer specializing in English, welcomed the guests and emphasized the importance of educators in the 21st century. He touched on the need to produce quality educators in South African Schools’ in order to overcome the drop in matric pass rates and to improve basic skills of numeracy and literacy.
The guest speaker, Mr Farouk Bayat, who received the National Teaching award in the lifetime achievement category for 2016, talked on the topic of “Teaching in South Africa today”. He addressed the issue of the current lack of educators within the FET phase, who specialise in subjects such as English, Physical Science, Accounting, Mathematics and Economics. He also touched on how many individuals look to pursue a career in either Medicine or Accountancy but are always discouraged towards becoming an educator. Mr Farouk Bayat, assured students who are studying towards the PGCE at MANCOSA, that they are definitely making a wise choice as the team is made up of highly qualified educators who come with a wealth of experience. Their experience will assist MANCOSA students to becoming world class educators.
Mrs. Rathna Pather, officially introduced the dynamic team of academics and coordinators and kindly thanked them for their hard work, commitment and contribution towards putting together the PGCE programme. She went on to explain the requirements, admission process, career opportunities and programme structure of the PGCE. It was her hard-hitting words which said; “Today we need to talk to a different type of student in the classroom; one who is techno savvy and requires instant gratification. This prompts us to produce the type of educators that are equipped to handle these type of students.” She also briefly mentioned that MANCOSA will be offering the Bachelor of Education Degree in the next few months.
The programme was concluded with the opportunity to ask questions and a vote of thanks, delivered by Ms Quraisha Jamaloodeen, who thereafter invited guests for lunch.
This launch has created great interest and we will continue to strive for excellence in education.