5.2 Data presentation
5.2.1 Complexities to school functionality
During semi-structured interviews there were series of responses from the participants which they felt are the challenges their schools encounter that impact on the smooth running. These are: the department of education, teacher union, absenteeism, late coming, drugs, drop outs and the community. With enormous frustration, Mr Bell, the principal of Mshini Secondary School explained:
I will tell you categorically, the biggest, impediment, stress, and frustration in running the school is the Department of Education. On a daily basis you are a highly organised school, highly organised school management team with the best teaching staff. We run a wonderful school, it’s the dictate or the request from the Department
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of Education: the impossible deadlines that they impose on us in the last minutes. The miscommunication, the top- down approach they use. All they are doing is breaking our spirit more and more with unreasonable demands. I am incredibly frustrated with the lack of leadership in this province
(Mr Bell, principal of Mshini Secondary School).
Ventilating his frustration Mr Bell further said it does not end with the Department of Education as he had the following to say:
Also teacher unions, which I am all for I am not against unionism as long as they protect the rights of teachers in terms of labour issues but where they start to mingle with the management issues of the school they really impact on the functioning of the school
(Mr Bell, principal of Mshini Secondary School).
Similarly, the same views about the department of education were also pointed by Mrs Nodlula, the principal of Toyi Primary School and she stated:
Within the school there is nothing, we do our outmost best but the problems are caused by the department of education where they just move the problematic teacher from another school and dump him or her to your school without consulting
(Mrs Nodlula, principal of Toyi Primary School).
Other participants felt the challenges that impact in school running of their schools are within their schools as Mr Zukwa the principal of Lokishini Secondary School explained:
We find ourselves in the cold, when it comes to punctuality, I must point out and mention it with fatigue, yes we are failing but not with our hands down, to nurture punctuality, we are the talk of the community
(Mr Zukwa, principal of Lokishini Secondary School).
Adding to what his principal had said Mr Madala the post level 1 teacher of Lokishini Secondary School stated:
Our challenges are the drugs paddled by the community through our fence and high level of drop outs due teenage pregnancy as well
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(Mr Madala, post level 1 teacher of Lokishini Secondary School).
Similarly, Mrs Zondi, the post level 1 teacher of Ngoyi Primary School stated:
The community that selling at the gate is the interference in the smooth running of the school since they sell items that are not healthy for our learners as well as cigarettes.
The items that they sell make our learners hyperactive after break time (Mrs Zondi, post level 1 teacher of Ngoyi Primary School).
If learners are not attending school, it makes it difficult for teachers to proceed with teaching and learning and this affects the smoothing running of the school. As Mrs Bhekela, the post level 1 teacher of Hloba Primary School explained:
Absenteeism and late coming is huge from the learners, we have to go back and forward teaching because some of the learners are not coming to school
(Mrs Bhekela, post level 1 teacher of Hloba Primary School).
The evidence of what Mr Bell, the principal of Mshini Secondary School pointed during our discussion was reflected in the delivery book that the school had to send the same documents to the department of education for the third time. Furthermore, was a letter from the union requesting their members to attend a meeting during school hours. The same frustration concerning the department of education was shared by Mrs Nodlula, the principal of Toyi Primary School which was evident when I perused the documents of the school. In the school log book there were entries about the teacher that has been placed in school and not attending regularly. Furthermore, the minutes of the school management team meeting dated 14 October 2014 where the superintended of education management was at the school to discuss the non-attendance of the teacher that was placed at the school. Although Mr Zukwa, the principal of Lokishini Secondary School and Mrs Bhekela, the post level 1 teacher of Hloba Primary School mentioned punctuality as an impediment caused by the learners, during my two days’ visit at both schools I witnessed half of the teachers were late for the morning briefings and the majority of learners were also late for the first periods. The late coming was also confirmed from the school registers where other teachers have not signed in the morning but signed in the afternoon. The learners register was showing learners late every day and some registers were not even marked by the teachers. Regard to teacher signing register was
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when the Mrs Sibonga, the principal of Hloba Primary School walking around with the teachers’ register asking teachers to sign before she handed it to me to review.
Both Mrs Zondi and Mr Madala, the post level 1 teachers of Ngoyi Primary School and Lokishini Secondary School respectively mentioned community members as the people affecting the smooth running of their schools. Perusing the documents of Lokishini Secondary School on 24 February 2015, the principal had a meeting with the local station commander and the discussion was about the community paddling dagga to the learners. The concern about teenage pregnancies at Lokishini Secondary School raised by Mr Madala, post level 1 teacher during our discussion was confirmed by the fifteen letters from the school dated 30 April 2015 sent to the parents of affected learners inviting them to school. During my visit at Ngoyi Primary School I witnessed lots of community members around the school fence selling to learners especially during break time. When the bell rung other learners where still buying from these hawkers ignoring the rules of the school. I witnessed learners buying cigarettes through the school fence at Ngoyi Primary School which corroborates what Mrs Zondi, the post level 1 teacher shared with me during our discussion.
The literature also confirms dissatisfaction with the Department of Education by principals in a form of time consuming instructions and directives as well as uncoordinated demands they impose on principals (Maforah & Schulze, 2012). In addition, the latter highlights interruptions and interference on principals’ daily working lives that waste their time by taking them out of the schools during school hours (ibid). The continuing unpunctuality of teachers and learners in schools is regarded as one of the most dominating cause of the dysfunctional schools in South Africa (Bergman, Bergman & Gravett, 2011). This suggest an impediment to teaching and learning in schools as learners lose a lot of time for late coming which at the end impact in the smooth running of the school. Another impact on smooth running of the schools that is outlined clearly as major concern is the teenage pregnancy which disrupts female learners and most of them end up dropping out of school (Mchunu, Peltzer, Tutshana & Seutlwadi, 2012; Basch, 2011; James, Van Rooyen & Strümpher, 2011;
Bhana, Morrell, Shefer & Ngabaza, 2010; Macleod & Tracey, 2010). A study by Kamper (2008) shows that the surrounding community were able to ensure effective teaching and learning in schools through their positive support of the school. The second insight of self- categorisation theory is the one that reflects to the operation of the context in which people see themselves as either complying with the context or not (Turner, 1991).
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The findings from the participants showed that there is lots of frustration posed by Department of Education. Furthermore, the late coming and teenage pregnancy in some study schools is still a challenge. Moreover, the interference of the community by distracting learners during teaching time is a huge problem.
The next theme discusses the categorisation of schools.