Ten years after matriculating, Imran Bodalaji’s relentless pursuit of his dream to become a teacher was realised when he crossed the graduation stage to receive his BEd degree from Stellenbosch University. He is only the second Deaf student to achieve this goal.
Bodalaji (29) was born in Worcester. In 1993, when he was six months old, his family found out that he had been born deaf. He went to the Karel du Toit Centre for two years before he attended crèche at De La Bat School – a school in Worcester that provides for the educational needs of Deaf learners.
He started his primary education at a mainstream school, but a decision was made in his Grade 3 year to enrol him at the De La Bat School to complete his primary education. “The transition from a mainstream hearing school to a Deaf school helped me greatly, as I felt included and understood. I could also connect with teachers and fellow learners, as Sign Language helped to understand information correctly. This resulted in better academic and holistic performance.”
Bodalaji has been dreaming of becoming a teacher since Grade 9. After matriculating in 2012, he attended the National Institute for Deaf (NID) College, where he completed a course in Early Childhood Development (ECD) Level 4. In 2014, he enrolled in the Worcester campus of Boland College to further his studies. Through lipreading, he successfully completed level 5. “I then found out that I needed an appropriate education qualification to become a qualified educator. I applied to various universities to complete a BEd degree, but was unsuccessful as I did not meet the criteria.”
Bodalaji completed a short course in South African Sign language (SASL) literature at Stellenbosch University and hoped that one day he would be able to study there. Finally, in 2017, he was enrolled at Stellenbosch University. With the support of the various University structures, he started to make strides towards realising his dream.
Persistence pays off
Towards the end of 2021 he struggled to finish the final stretch of this degree. His persistence and resilience were tested to the core. His graduation epitomises conquering barriers and not giving up on his dreams.
His new dream? “My dream is for Deaf learners to learn South African Sign Language so that they do not have to assimilate to fit in to receive an education in South Africa. Deaf learners should be given endless opportunities to grow – in schooling and post-schooling –to achieve anything they set their minds to.”
