Sigamoney Manicka Naicker

Sigamoney Manicka Naicker grew up in a working-class apartheid

township, an experience that profoundly shaped his lifelong commitment

to social justice in education. He holds a doctorate in education and

has been awarded an Extra-Ordinary Professorship, alongside serving in

senior leadership roles including Chief Director of Curriculum/Inclusive Education and

National Director of Inclusive Education in South Africa. He was also

appointed as a National Commissioner responsible for developing

Education Support Services and currently serves in a leadership role

on a Ministerial Committee reviewing Inclusive Education in South

Africa. A widely recognised thought leader, Naicker has written

several books and has spoken at numerous local and international

forums on education, inequality, and inclusion. He challenges the

direction of contemporary schooling systems, arguing that education in

the 21st century has lost its moral and human essence. He advocates

for a reimagined approach—what he calls educare—grounded in care,

dignity, and social responsibility. At the heart of his work is a

simple but urgent belief: if education does not serve humanity,

particularly the poor and vulnerable, it fails in its fundamental

purpose.