Passion to impart education
RECOGNISED for her favourable and lasting influence on students, while displaying evidence of having an educational impact beyond the classroom, academic Ansurie Pillay was bestowed with the coveted Distinguished Teachers’ Award at UKZN’s graduation ceremony last Tuesday.
The senior lecturer in English education in the Language and Arts Education Cluster at the School of Education since 2009 said the award was an affirmation for all academic staff who worked innovatively in sometimes difficult circumstances to make a difference in the lives of students.
The award, one of the highest honours in academia, requires candidates not only to be outstanding teachers demonstrating successful and effective learning outcomes but to have made a sustained contribution to teaching.
Pillay completed her undergraduate degree at the former University of Durban-Westville and her post-graduate degree at UKZN.
During her years as a high school teacher, she obtained a cum laude pass in teaching English as a second language from Cambridge University. She left teaching to go into television production, where she won a Commonwealth Vision Award in London for excellence in filmmaking.
“I have been blessed to have come from an environment, both personal and professional, of activism against injustice and activism for agency. During my childhood and youth, I was exposed to and experienced activism in various spheres.
“My career as a teacher in urban high schools showed me the extent to which institutionalised discrimination shaped lives but also the role teachers can play in enabling learners to rise above obstacles. My career in documentary film and television thereafter brought into sharp focus the stark inequalities that define our lives,” said Pillay.
Inspired by Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, Pillay said her approach to education was informed by a commitment to change and social justice.
“Mandela noted that ‘Education is the most powerful weapon that you can use to change the world’ and Gandhi urged people to ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’.
“As an academic, I draw on who the students are, what has shaped their educational journeys and how they understand education. I also aim for agency in my students, so that no-one is silenced and all voices are respected, and this award reminds me to re-affirm this aim.”
In her lecture rooms, Pillay endeavours to equip students to recognise the important roles they play and the responsibilities they need to fulfil.
“The award motivates me to continue doing this work and ensure that students enter the workplace empowered, not just with subject knowledge and skills, but also with the ability to reflect critically on the ideological and philosophical foundations that define who they are and what they do. I also want to do better and be better with the students in my classes, and with the colleagues with whom I work.”
The mother of two, who is married to Charles Pillay, a KZN Department of Education employee, said she had many ideas to implement with undergraduate and post-graduate students to enable them to serve as agents of change in their classrooms in future.
“In tandem, I want to research such ideas individually and with students and colleagues, and then publish these findings to share insight I have gained with others.”