28-year-old Nkazimulo Khumalo who worked as a taxi driver to pay his school fees has finally bagged a degree in Education at the University of South Africa.
Nkazimulo Khumalo is a Taxi Driver who drives between Sunninghill and Ivory Park in Midrand, Johannesburg. He obtained his Education degree from the University of South Africa.
Khumalo said obtaining a degree and becoming a teacher has always been his dream and he is glad to have achieved the feat.
He juggled between working as a taxi driver and being a student. Khumalo said he used his earnings from his everyday profits to fund his tuition fees, adding that despite the stress from his work he still remained focused.Â
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“I enrolled at Unisa in 2015 and I had to take care of my siblings as well. I only managed to study when I was ‘binding’ (waiting for his turn to load passengers). I would dedicate three hours a day to study and it was not difficult at all because I am a focused person,” he said.
Khumalo said he joined the taxi industry at a very young age because he was the breadwinner of his family.
“I am the eldest at home and had to do something to take care of my family. It was not easy being a taxi driver as I have been shouted at many times and even told that I was useless by some passengers, but that never changed the person that I am,” he said.
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Upon graduation, Khumalo was offered a teaching job at Ebony Primary School, Tembisa in South Africa fulfilling his dream of becoming a teacher. He said he fell in love with teaching when he was in grade 9 as he used to watch his creative arts teacher in class.
“He loved what he was doing and one could see he was doing it from the bottom of his heart. He inspired and guided me through my high school years and he always told me that nothing is impossible as long as you have positive mindset,” he said.
He was awarded a refund of his tuition fees while at the University of South Africa by the Taxi Association, Ivory Park Taxi Association (Ipta) where he is an active member.
Khumalo said he hopes to use the story of his educational journey to motivate kids in Africa to chase their dreams.
“I knew that the same person shouting at me would have their children being taught by me one day, I have lived my life with a positive mindset, which is why I have managed to push through, irrespective of the challenges,” Khumalo said.
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