Former rural school teacher wins prestigious leade...

Former rural school teacher wins prestigious leadership award

The Global Citizen Prize: Cisco Youth Leadership Award 2023 for inspiring Youth Leaders (US$250,000 prize) | Opportunities For Africans

A Zimbabwean science teacher, Mr Nkosana Butholenkosi Masuku, has won the prestigious Cisco Youth Leadership Award.

Mr Masuku walked away with US$250,000 for the prestigious youth leadership award which recognises the role played by young people around the globe in positively impacting the world. The prize hand-over ceremony was held in New York, the USA.

Mr Masuku founded Phenomtec-Sciency to make Science, Technology and Engineering (stem) accessible to rural learners.

He said as a former rural teacher, he was faced with a tough situation in which he was teaching secondary sciences without any models or apparatus as the school could not afford to buy them.

“Sciency was started when I was teaching in rural areas. I realised it was difficult for learners to comprehend practical science subjects. This was due to lack of study aid materials.

“The advantage of teaching them practicals in science, technology, engineering and mathematics is that it enables learners to retain their knowledge thereby reducing the dropout rates.

“Thousands of African schools have underfunded science labs, lacking the models required for applied science learning. They are often imported which makes them expensive.

“Learners can finish K12 secondary education without performing a single experiment due to a lack of science models and apparatus.

“It hurt me to see that 67 percent of learners were dropping out of their science subjects as they were being learnt theoretically.

"This is why I founded Sciency Learning, to inspire the next generation of stem professionals who can solve problems in the continent to increase our economic growth. I have three-plus years of experience as a qualified stem teacher,” Mr Masuku said as he accepted the award.

Mr Masuku is an alumnus of the Mandela Washington Fellowship. His award is part of Global Citizen’s effort to honour young leaders spearheading change through innovative means in their localities.

He enrolled at Hillside Teachers College in 2015, specialising in physics and chemistry and was employed as a science teacher by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education at Lubhangwe Secondary in Matobo district, Matabeleland South Province.

A representative of Cisco Fran Katsoudas said stem education is critical for opening doors of opportunity.

“Nkosana’s vital work utilising innovative technology to offer Stem learning to rural schools across Zimbabwe is transformative.

“Investing in education reaps a lifetime of benefits, not only for children but also for their communities. The work of young leaders like Nkosana is helping to usher in a more inclusive future by empowering youth in Africa and around the world to thrive in the digital economy,” Katsoudas said.