Jakes Gerwel Fellowship

Nurturing expert teachers who embrace innovation and lead change. South Africa’s education system is in crisis, which requires a multifaceted response.  Research points strongly to the fact that no system can supersede the quality of its teachers – the quality of teachers is crucial to the success and health of the system. The unit of change is therefore the teacher. At Jakes Gerwel Fellowship (JGF), we believe that education is a powerful vehicle for addressing social justice. Addressing this issue is thus the fundamental driver of JGF’s work and we, therefore, want to impact the quality of teaching in schools, which in turn can realise the full potential of children.

Teaching is also a vehicle for social innovation. We equip and support Fellows to tackle education challenges entrepreneurially, whilst also changing the narrative about the teaching profession. The JGF promotes three pathways to effect change in the system, teaching, leading, and edupreneurship.