Mlungisi Nkosi, founder of the Mlungisi Nkosi Maths and Science Centre, isn’t just a math tutor in Johannesburg. He’s the echo of every child who sat in a classroom thinking they weren’t smart enough. He’s proof that education can be rewritten.
His story didn’t start with chalkboards and lesson plans. It started with “personal struggles with mathematics and science” and the question so many students ask: “Why does this feel impossible?” During the COVID-19 pandemic, he started where many do nowadays, online. His YouTube channel, launched out of necessity, became a movement, attracting over 300,000 subscribers hungry for clarity in a confusing subject.
But this wasn’t just about formulas. Nkosi saw the gap. Not just between the right answer and the wrong one, but between demographics. “A noticeable disparity in academic success among demographic groups in South Africa due to historical education inequalities,” he said. And that is the wound he chose to work on.
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Who does he teach?
His centre focuses on grades 8 to 12, but it’s not just math and science. It’s literacy, entrepreneurship, and leadership. It’s the chance to not just pass, but to rise. He emphasizes a holistic approach to education, which, in this context, means treating students like humans before numbers.
And the impact? Tangible. Real. “Numerous success stories,” some from students who never thought they’d make it beyond their circumstances. Stories that sound like miracles until you realize they were just waiting for someone to believe in them.
There are plans for a library. Talks of expansion. A dream that keeps growing. But most importantly, he believes that the responsibility to improve education and create opportunities lies within the community itself.
Because maybe the future of South Africa’s education doesn’t rest in big reforms. Maybe it lives in people like Nkosi, who took his own worst subject, turned it into his mission, and lit a fire for others to follow.
Image: mlungisinkosi.co.za
