Thanks to the involvement of former pupils, a township school in Grahamstown doubled its matric pass rate in a year and enjoys an ethos in which its pupils are thriving. Thobani Mesani reports.
Thanks to the involvement of former pupils, a township school in Grahamstown doubled its matric pass rate in a year and enjoys an ethos in which its pupils are thriving. Thobani Mesani reports.
After a shocking 35% matric pass rate in 2009, a group of past pupils at Nombulelo Secondary, in Joza, decided it was time to intervene. They formed a Nombulelo Secondary School Alumni group, NoSSA, to try and help.
Siphokazi Peter, the group's chairperson, said, “As the school’s alumni we felt the need to get involved and try to see how we could go about helping the school improve.”
In 2010 the alumni went to speak to pupils at the school in an attempt to find out what they wanted and what they thought needed to be done to improve the situation in their school.
Among their interventions, they suggested that the school should recognise and reward pupils who had performed well at the end of each year and that this should be done at the beginning of the following year, to set the tone and motivate them to do well.
The alumni also identified school subjects that pupils had problems with and organised tutoring sessions during school holidays. Their intervention proved fruitful, because in 2010 the school had a 70.4% matric pass rate – an increase of more than 100% from the 2009 results.
Principal Mthuthuzeli Koliti is delighted with the alumni group and its involvement with the school. He said that since they had shown an interest in the school, the pupils had been motivated to work harder. He said they saw the alumni as role models – proof that they too could make something of their lives if they worked harder.
Uviwe Keta, president of the Learners' Representative Council, agreed with Koliti, saying many of his peers had shown great interest in their studies since the alumnis' involvement. Some of the alumni group are members of the executive committee of the school’s governing body (SGB).
Likhaya Ngandi, who was elected as the SGB's chairperson last week, said everyone was aware of the education problems in the Eastern Cape and if NoSSA’s involvement was successful, other schools could adopt similar initiatives.
Ngandi said many township schools did not receive much support from the community and past learners. The Nombulelo Secondary School Alumni group's aim was to show that with enough support, disadvantaged schools could also thrive.
