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welcome written in different international languages is displayed. The principal said,
“We have a welcoming message in different languages to show that we want our learners to compete internationally.” The school received a cohort of international students from different countries in 2019.
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The principal is currently teaching English Grade 7 and technology Grade 7. The principal is part of the community and plays a very important role in the tribal authority.
This gives him access to a lot of resources and social capital that enables his school to be protected from some of the vandalism rampant in the area.
4.3.3 Mr Tau of CeCe Primary School
Mr Tau holds a number of teaching qualifications. He studied and qualified with a Primary Teachers’ Diploma (PTD) at the local teacher college in 1988. In 1992, he enrolled with the University of South Africa (UNISA) for a Bachelor of Arts Degree, which he eventually obtained in 1998. He qualified with a Bachelor of Education Honours Degree at UNISA in 2014. He also studied with Regenesys Business School for a Post Graduate Diploma. He started as CS1 teachers in one school, moved to the school where he completed his secondary education, and taught Agricultural Science and History. He was appointed principal of the feeder primary school in 2000. He has more than 30 years’ teaching experience of which 10 of those are in the principalship position. He is the second principal of the school since its inception. He is currently teaching Grade 7, something which increases his duties and affects his instructional leadership function. Mr Tau said that he has a love for teaching and enjoys being of help to the community. He has initiated a number of projects in his school to improve the grounds and the image of the school. Among his initiatives, he proudly shows a wall that he built on the roadside of the school. He indicated that he built the wall to ensure that the noise from passing vehicles did not become a distraction to the learners. Mr Tau of CeCe primary mentioned that they have regular meetings as a staff. However, there is no mention of the performance of the individual classes.
4.3.4 Ms Martha of DoDo Primary School
In 1993, Ms Martha enrolled at a teacher training college in Gauteng and qualified in 1995 with a Junior Primary Teachers’ Diploma (JPTD). The principal studied for a Higher Diploma in Education with SECT. She obtained a Bachelor of Education Honours Degree with Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) and Post Graduate Certificate in Education with Regenesys Business School. She also holds a qualification as an assessor, moderator, mentor and coach. She was employed at a school in another circuit. In 2006, she was appointed as a departmental head at DoDo Primary School. The participant started volunteering at the district to facilitate CPTD
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and facilitated SGB training. She was co-opted to be trained as a trainer for principals while still a departmental head. In 2011, she was redeployed to another school in the circuit. In 2015, she was appointed as principal at DoDo Primary School. She has been in the post of principal for seven years. She is the second principal of the school since its inception and the first female principal of the school.
There are four members of the SMT, only one appointed HoD and three co-opted. The SMT co-option was based on the seniority of the members as they knew the environment better than the principal, who was newly appointed. The principal also considered their skills and qualifications. The principal is also from a different village and currently lives 40 kilometres away from the school. Ms Martha was very confident and enthusiastic about her job as a principal. She spoke excitedly about what she thought she could achieve.
4.3.5 Mr Lengau of Eli Eli Primary School
Mr Lengau qualified as an educator with a Bachelor of Arts and a Higher Education Diploma from the University of the North. He started working in a secondary school teaching English. He was requested to act as a principal in another secondary school but returned to his former school just after a year. In 2012, he was promoted to the post of the principal of the current primary school. He is currently teaching English in Grade 7.
4.3.6 Mr Ndou of FuFu Secondary School
The principal qualified as a teacher with a Secondary Teachers’ Diploma (STD) in 1993. He started working in 1994 in the same school. In 2001, the participant obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Africa. He furthered his studies with Regenesys Business School and obtained a postgraduate certificate in education in 2015. He was appointed the Head of Department in 1996, a deputy in 2006, acting principal in 2018, and a principal in 2019. He is the third principal of the school since its establishment. He indicated that he is facing challenges with his colleagues who do not support his ascension to the position of principal. They undermine his authority and remain indifferent to efforts to improve the school. Mr Ndou said, “I even feel like resigning, I don’t enjoy it at all. No one is prepared to assist the learners even when we are all aware that the school is underperforming.”
67 4.3.7 Mr Sebata of GiGi Secondary School
The participant qualified with a Bachelor of Arts degree and Higher Education Diploma from the University of the North. He went on to obtain a BEd. Hons with the University of Pretoria (UP), and Master’s degree with the same university. Mr Sebata is a relentless principal who managed to persuade the Department to renew his school when it was not next on the list. He built partnerships with international organisations which saw his school being allocated international students from Sweden.
Mr Sebata started teaching in 1994 at a different school. He has occupied a deputy principal post in his former school. In 2010, he contested and won the principalship position of GiGi Secondary School. This was against the wishes of the staff and the majority union as according to Mr Sebata, “they wanted to give the post to a comrade”.
The staff ganged against him and made him feel unwelcome at the school. The long- serving teachers in the school hoped that the principalship post would be occupied by them and they would push one another on the promotional ladder. They exercised great influence, and they went about mobilising the community against Mr Sebata. As he put it, “I remained stubborn and focused on my core responsibility and eventually won them to my side. It was not easy.”
He managed to change the school’s performance profile from a low performing school to one of the best performers in his circuit.