SA leaders’ tribute to old teacher
ONE of the Eastern Cape’s most remarkable former maths and science teachers will be honoured in style on Saturday for his role in teaching the two critical subjects.
Thanks to his former pupils, a grand thanksgiving dinner will be held at the Ginsberg Community Hall to honour Vuyisile “PV” Maneli.
King William’s Town based Maneli, 79, is the former school principal of, among others, Forbes Grant High in Ginsberg, Lawson Secondary in Fort Beaufort as well as Thembalabantu High School in Zwelitsha.
He was the first black principal of the best performing St Johns College in Mthatha, after he took over in July 1978. At St Johns he taught, among others, former Eastern Cape education MEC and acting director-general Mahlubandile Qwase as well as Eastern Cape premier Phumulo Masualle.
Maneli, a University of Fort Hare alumni was only 31 years old when he won a South Africa/United States of America leadership exchange scholarship and went on to study modern maths and physical science at the University of South Dakota in Vermilion in 1968.
Such extra training abroad must have paid off as the soft spoken Maneli also imparted skills to leading business individuals in the province. These included accounting officers of major companies and distinguished lawyers and academics such as Dumisani Tabata of Smith-Tabata Attorneys, East London businessman Mlandeli Vazi, and former Vodacom Foundation chief executive Mthobi Tyamzashe.
Tyamzashe studied at Forbes Grant between 1969 and 1971, where Maneli taught him maths and physics. He remembers fondly how his skills helped his class get good grades in the two subjects.
Vazi described Maneli as a role model “to all of us because he was also a black Springbok”.
“It was very rare back then to have a black teacher who had a Bachelor of Science degree, and he did [and] at the same time was a very good rugby player,” Vazi said.
Maneli’s former pupils learnt about his “not so good state” and decided to host the Saturday event, to fundraise and celebrate his role in society.
Tyamzashe said he was very saddened to see Maneli struggling to make ends-meet despite having produced matriculants of note in his career as a teacher. “I was saddened to see him going through tough times and did not hesitate to contribute when told about his thanksgiving celebration,” he said.
“I salute those who acknowledged his role as an educator who contributed so handsomely to our careers.” —