Phumlani Mthonti is looking forward to obtaining his second qualification, an Advanced Diploma in Technical and Vocational Teaching. He will be graduating Cum Laude at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) 2024 Autumn Graduation ceremony, which will be held at the Indumiso campus, in Pietermaritzburg on Monday, 13 May 2024.
The excited Mthonti (25) from Escourt in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands is hoping that this qualification will open doors for him in the field of lecturing.
His journey at DUT began in 2018 when he got accepted to pursue a Diploma in Accounting. However, he had to take a one year break due to financial constraints. In 2022, he finally got a chance to return to DUT for his second qualification.
“After being able to successfully fundraise myregistration fees for the year 2022, I then decided to register for the Advanced Diploma in Technical and Vocational Teaching of which was a two-year part-time course that was introduced at DUT in 2022. I then completed the qualification in December 2023 with Cum Laude. I am very proud of myself to have obtained such excellent results and I give credit to my study plan that I compiled during the period when I first enrolled into this qualification,” shared Mthonti.
The major challenge he encountered during his study period was missing out on some classes due to poor network connectivity caused by loadshedding. He would rely on the class recording to help him to catch up on the work he had missed.
He hopes his achievement will motivate his younger siblings to also work hard at school and strive for academic excellence.
Relaying on his passion for teaching, Mthonti said: “I started falling in love with the teaching profession when I was still working as an education assistant in the year 2021/2022. I also realised that my interest in higher education sector is very broad and vast back then when I was undergoing my teaching practice at Mnambithi TVET College last year.”
He encouraged first year students to set achievable goals for themselves at the beginning of the academic year in order to achieve good results from the start of the course. He cautioned them to never forget the reason they enrolled at DUT, as it will serve as a motivation, especially during tough times.
Pictured: Phumlani Mthonti
Simangele Zuma
