At only 28 years old, Salome Kelly Mofokeng is the youngest senior education specialist in Gauteng.

 

In this role, she oversees the implementation of assessment policies, programmes, practices and processes and functional assessment bodies.

 

Kicking off her career

 

She kicked off her teaching career in 2014 at the Lebohang Secondary School. In 2017, at the age of 25, she became the youngest head of department in the Sedibeng West District, after being promoted to head of department of commerce at the school.

 

Salome has a long list of achievements. The three that have pride of place are the Silver Award in Excellence for Secondary School Teaching awarded by the Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga at the recent National Teaching Awards, the Best Educator in Accounting awarded by the South African Democratic Teachers Union in 2016, and first place for Excellence in Secondary School teaching from the Gauteng Department of Education in 2019.

 

She obtained her bachelor’s degree in education in 2014, her honours in education management in 2016, and her master’s in education management cum laude in 2019, all at the NWU’s Vanderbijlpark Campus.

 

A bright future awaits

 

Salome has big plans for the future. She aims to complete her PhD in education management within the next five years. She sees herself working in academe as a professor or as the director of assessments at the Gauteng Department of Basic Education.

 

Salome’s advice to young women is that, what lies between them and their goals are challenges that are meant to test their character not their personalities.

 

“These challenges can either unlock the next stage of positivity and shut the door on negativity, or unlock the door of negativity while positivity dies,” she says.