"It's never too late to learn, even for elderly people," said 60-year-old Reckson Tshishivheli of Khubvi village, who graduated from the University of Johannesburg with a postgraduate diploma in labour law on Thursday, 13 April.
Tshishivheli was employed by the Limpopo Department of Health for many years. In 1986, he worked as a health inspector, sailing through the ranks to become chief environmental health officer, and later specialist: employment standards until his retirement in September 2022.
Over the years, he has raked in diplomas one after the other, including a national diploma in public health (Technikon Northern Transvaal, 1986), national higher diploma in public health (Technikon Witwatersrand, 1992), baccalaureus technologiae: environmental health (Technikon Pretoria), bachelor of science (medical) (honours) in environmental health (2000), bachelor in business administration (University of South Africa, 2017), and now his postgraduate diploma in labour law. He had also obtained several certificates of competence from the University of Witwatersrand, University of Pretoria, Technicon Pretoria, and others.
His secret? He whole-heartedly believes that reading broadens the mind. "I wish I were still young, so that I could fully utilise the studying opportunities, but I thank God because I have at least managed to fulfil part of my dream. I will keep on studying until I lose my eyesight. I will keep myself busy by reading books. People should know that we do not read books for salary increments, but to acquire more knowledge and to become well informed," he said.
Tshishivheli has a strong message of encouragement to other elders who think old age is a stumbling block to further studies. "As elders, we are capable of making a contribution in the development of education in our country. Never say I will do tomorrow what can be done today. Age is just a number, and we all have the potential to achieve what we have set out to do in life."