From 24 to 27 February 2026, the Communication and Marketing unit of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Region participated in a week-long Life Orientation Educators’ Forum held by the KZN Department of Education in the uMgungundlovu District.

Workshops were held at Elandskop, Richmond, Dalton and in the Pietermaritzburg CBD. With more than 150 Life Orientation government-employed educators from the region attending, Unisa was fortunate to be invited to participate in this important gathering.

Unisa staff delivered an impactful presentation to the attendees, taking them through key information they need to impart to their learners, and urging them to acquire a basic understanding of the career path each learner would like to pursue as an adult. Early awareness and career dress-up days were identified as invaluable in channelling learners towards the careers of their choice. Greater emphasis is now being placed on holding career dress-up days for Grade 7 learners and on guiding them to make informed subject choices after passing Grade 9, as their choices will largely determine which degrees and career paths they can ultimately pursue when applying to higher education institutions (HEIs).

Learners must be conscientised about the possible careers and qualifications available to them from as early as Grade 7, as their Grade 10 subjects will see them through Grades 11 and 12. The Grade 9 juncture is therefore pivotal in all learners’ lives, for ultimately shaping their future career paths.

Presentations by the KZN Central Applications Office emphasised the point the Unisa representative made: learners need to apply for a place at an HEI a year before the academic year in which they intend to study. The speakers observed that many learners – especially those from under-resourced and poverty-stricken communities – tend not to apply for admission timeously and, having matriculated, urgently seek a space at the start of a new academic year. The unfortunate result is long queues and chaos.

As Sikhumbuzo Gwala, Consumer Protector from the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, pointed out, it is during the teenage years that doctors, engineers, pilots, teachers and truck drivers are made, because once Grade 10 subjects are chosen, "there is no turning back". He encouraged Life Orientation educators to be purposeful in enabling learners to make the mind-shift to choose STEM-related subjects and professional qualifications, thereby helping them become job creators rather than job seekers upon completing their post-school studies.

Lungelo Mbili, the principal of Ntabente Secondary, reminded the teachers that they play multiple roles in their learners' lives, one of which is introducing them to careers they might pursue after leaving school; hence, they have an impact on learners’ adult lives, either by design or by omission. By design, teachers must channel learners toward professional qualifications that could sustain them into the future.

Unisa, as the largest comprehensive open and distance e-learning institution in Africa, enrols one-third of South Africa's overall student population, and thus plays a central role in shaping future generations of scientists, farmers, engineers, teachers and community leaders.

Kholeka Mkhize, Education Specialist from the Department of Education Career Guidance and Counselling, who coordinated these workshops and is herself a Unisa graduate, wished that educators would remind their learners that this university has produced prominent and influential leaders, and that Unisa’s role will continue well into the future. For that reason, it should become the university of choice for learners considering where to submit their tertiary admission applications.

* By Siyabonga Seme, Manager: Communication & Marketing: KwaZulu-Natal Region