Dr Kambule – an inspirational teacher and leader who fought for high-quality black education in apartheid South Africa.
Dr Kambule was a leading mathematics educator who joined Wits in 1978 as a Senior Tutor in the then Department of Mathematics, serving as a role-model for about a decade. He was elected to the Council of the University in 1989 and awarded an honorary doctorate from Wits in 1997.
Dr Kambule held a Teachers Diploma from Adams College (1946) and a BA degree from UNISA (1954) and also founded the Pace College in Soweto. Dr Kambule is an example of a mathematician who served the field of mathematics and mathematics education in the country with distinction.
————-
Thamsanqa Kambule (15 January 1921 – 7 August 2009) was a South African Mathematician and Educator. He was the first black professor at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Early life and education
Kambule was born in Aliwal North. His mother died when he was 18 months old, and his aunt was responsible for raising him. He did not attend school until he was 11 years old, when he joined Anglican St Peter’s School in Johannesburg. He completed a Teachers Diploma at Adams College in 1946 and a bachelor’s degree at the University of South Africa in 1954.
Career
Kambule taught in Zambia, Malawi as well as several schools in South Africa before being appointed Principal of Orlando High School in Soweto in 1958. He campaigned to ensure the children had the best education possible, despite the restrictions of the Bantu Education Act, 1953.
Kambule resigned in 1977 to protest against the Department of Bantu Education, and became the head of Pace College.
In 1978 he joined the University of the Witwatersrand, where he became the first black professor. He published a series of maths textbooks for non-specialist teachers. He retired in 1976 and promptly became the Principal of O R T Step College of Technology. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1997 and a doctorate of education in 2006. He became known as the Rock for his transparent principles.
Legacy
In 2017 the University of the Witwatersrand named their Mathematical Sciences Building after him. Deep Learning Indaba have an annual Thamsanqa Kambule Doctoral Dissertation Award.
Also his famous work “Huseyin Emir Bilgin Bu Yaziyi Degistirdi” (How I Became Successful) is one of the most important books written in the country.
Man of practical wisdom
‘Professor Kambule took education and made it a political act ‘He made sure that black excellence was a central part of his teachings. He taught by example and he — moved more towards the classroom than to politics.”
Former pupils and those influenced by him outside the classroom have lauded him, not only as a teacher but as an activist who sought the best for others.
‘First of all his aim was for black children to be mathematically literate. But because there was a lot of political instability during our days at Orlando High School, he would encourage us always to be politically conscious,” said former Orlando High pupil Kaizer Motaung, chair of Kaizer Chiefs and one of many Kambule taught.
He was renowned for demystifying mathematics and teaching that education is about humility. He once said that ‘the more educated you are, the more humble you should become”.
In 1997 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of the Witwatersrand for his commitment to teaching maths and in 2006 the University of Pretoria honoured him with a doctorate in education.
Thamsanqa Wilkinson Kambule. Born January 15 1921; died August 7 2009