The country celebrates Human Rights Month in March, under the theme “The year of Charlotte Maxeke: promoting human rights in the Age of Covid-19”. Human Rights Day is celebrated on 21 March which stems from the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960, where the apartheid police shot and killed 69 people during a peaceful protest. Award-winning primary school principal, Zibuyile Nzama says: “Education is a human right for all.”
Nzama is the principal of Spearman Primary School, in Overport, and has been with the school for five years; making a difference in the lives of the pupils and the teachers. She has been in the field of education for 27 years, starting off as a high school teacher before being promoted to a primary school principal in 2016.
She has won a number of excellence awards from the KZN Department of Education including: an excellence award in primary school leadership in 2018, where she came first in the provincial category and third nationally.
Nzama also bagged a few teaching awards for 100 percent pass rates in her speciality subjects: biology, history and English as a teacher in the uThukela District, northern Kwazulu-Natal. She said her passion for teaching and education was driven by the love of her illiterate father who made sure that his nine children got the best education.
“He gave us our human rights. My father never went to school, growing up he was a herd boy, he later worked for the construction industry. He loved education and always went the extra mile to teach us whatever he could, especially the history of the province and all about the gems and resources of KwaZulu-Natal,” said Nzama.
She said at school she was pushed on to higher grades, because she knew more than she was supposed to for the grade she was in. What the teachers taught her she already knew. “My father was blessed enough to raise seven teachers and a social worker. He motivated me to excel in all I do and would reward my siblings and I for all we achieved. He took us to libraries, museums, the airport, you name it, and told us stories which stayed with us while we were in school until today,” Nzama said.
Nzama said teaching in a high school was very different from being a principal in a primary school. “I did not like it at first, but later got used to it and I have learnt a lot. As the Spearman principal, I am a mother, a grandmother and a friend to the pupils and staff. It gives me fulfillment to know that I am making a difference in someone’s life, especially the little lives which I am given an opportunity to groom from a very young age.”
She said she loves children and is a mother of two, a daughter and a son who are both studying at tertiary level. “I also have my last born; Elihle in Grade 3, she is my special child who came into my life at the age of two months, she keeps me alive,” Nzama added.
Originally from uMlazi, Nzama said her schooling days were not as easy as compared to now, however, education has always been priority for her. She said that the education system of Nated 550 compared to that of OBE was difficult and promoted pupils to be the same whether with specialties, difficulties or challenges.
“The new system is good. It requires teachers to understand each pupil’s capability, as the OBE system is an approach and is straight forward. The only thing that is lacking is for the teachers to understand White paper No. 6 which is a framework policy on Special Needs Education, Building an Inclusive Education and Training System. The document was a response to the post-apartheid state of special needs and support services in education and training. Two main findings were that only a small percentage of pupils with disabilities were receiving specialised education and support, usually on a racial basis, and that the education system had generally failed to provide services appropriate to the diverse needs of pupils. For most pupils with disabilities, this meant they were ‘mainstreamed by default’ or that they did not attend school at all,” Nzama emphasised.
When Nzama is not in school or at work, for fun she teaches children in her community or watches the news. She said her ideal holiday destination is Dubai as she always hears people saying their dream is to visit Dubai. “I just want to go there and see what is so fascinating,” said Nzama.
She said that if she had another career choice she would have become a doctor as her passion lies in helping others and putting a smile on the next person’s face and making a difference. Nzama sent her condolences to the late King of the Zulu Nation King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu saying the nation will never be the same without him.”He was a leader of character, a strong and brave elder who contributed a lot to cultural education in the country and in the province. He will be forever missed. May he remember his nation when he is planted and grow into a tree of wisdom for the future generations. Wena Wendlovu Bayede,” Nzama concluded.
