An ambitious graduate who saw tutoring as a hobby ended up having his establishment where he tutors students from different schools in King Williams Town, in the Eastern Cape. Ebenezer Asiamah graduated in 2010 from the University of Ghana with Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics. He came to South Africa in 2012 hoping to further his studies, he said he stayed about one month in Pretoria and then moved to King Williams Town. Initially, he was employed by Mr. Kam Kam doing house-to-house tutoring helping kids who are struggling with their subjects.
Ebenezer said he got admitted to the University of Fort Hare to do his Honours but financially he could not carry on, so he continued visiting homes helping learners until he got a job at Peekay College. “2013-2014 I started teaching agricultural science and life science” he was formerly known as Ebenezer but a student started calling him “Mr E” he liked the name and all students began calling him Mr E. He continued sharing how the journey of his establishment started “My first student was Sinazo Kos who was doing grade 9 in De Vos Malan and was struggling in mathematics, someone I know asked if I could help and I did” As time went on, Sinazo was doing great in her Maths she later brought a friend from school also in the same grade as her and they both excelled.
After seeing that he could teach learners and take them from level 1 to level 4 that excited him. He said several learners came with Sinazo she also requested that they join the extra classes which shocked him but he agreed “They asked about the price and at that time I didn’t know how to price them so I told them they would pay R300 monthly they paid and I was amazed that I could make up to R3000 in 30 minutes more than I was getting paid at Peekay college”.
Then he did not have a place to accommodate learners for extra classes but, the college allowed him to use their classrooms. Ebenezer said he then got another job in TIA Academy where he was also teaching and did not stop with the extra classes. Looking at the number of students that multiplied weekly he made a timetable for the students for he had students from different grades. “One faithful day a learner named Lonwabo came to ask how much was I making when I counted all the students that I had for extra classes. He made me come to my senses as he advised me to save, as I used to do shopping and other things with money” said Ebenezer, he mentioned that it was 2019 when that particular learner opened his eyes and he started saving.
Ebenezer continued saying that 2019 was his breakthrough as he had many learners from different schools doing Mathematics and Maths literacy. 2020 during COVID-19 pandemic he said that it was really hard but the learners followed him to his house for tutoring and that he would take his bed outside to accommodate all learners as he was staying in a one-roomed flat. He said after realizing that he needed a more spacious place to accommodate his learners he went looking for a bigger place to rent that needed a little bit of touch to be in perfect condition he took it and did not tell learners about it so it was a surprise. He went to show them the building and told them he would be moving there soon they were all happy about his progress, he paid rent and fixed the building and was left with only R800. He said it was not easy but because he enjoyed his job it didn’t feel like he was starting this business with only that amount of money, in 2021 he operated as Mr. E Extra Tuition Tutoring Maths, Maths Lit, Physics, and accounting with the help of other teachers that joined him. In 2022 he started offering help in all subjects. He said the language barrier has not been that much of a problem as he is also learning to speak IsiXhosa from the learners, the only challenge is when parents don’t pay but they end up eventually paying. Concluding he said it has been a long sweet journey for him and he will be forever grateful to parents and learners who started the journey with him and who are still supporting him.
“My son improved in Maths, he was doing his matric in 2022 in Dale College. I have no regrets that I sent him to Mr E’s Extra tuition and I have never had a problem with Mr. E as he has always been good to our children” said Mrs Martin who is Hlombe Liyema Martin’s mother. Kuselo Malikhanye former student in Mr E’s extra tuition said he found out about Mr E from a fellow student at his school during his final year of high school “I had to join Mr E’s tuition to try my very best to ensure I make the most of it” said Kuselo. Adding he said that it was very beneficial for him to join the institution as Mr E had top teachers and shaped top students which ensured an amazing learning environment.
He said his teaching style exposed him to a lot of different types of questions which ensured good progress. “I joined the institution in 2020 when I was doing grade 10. Struggling with maths specifically, a classmate recommended Mr E for tutoring and I saw a significant change in my grades” said Usemhle Stofile who is also a former student. She concluded by saying that for any learner struggling with maths, she would recommend him because Mr E does everything for the love of his learners and the passion he has for teaching. “I am grateful to have found a teacher like him,” said Stofile