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Sikhumbuzo Moyo

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IF you thought heads of schools were only interested in being rooted to their office chairs, occasionally and if not all the time summoning teachers to give them instructions while once in a while scaring the hell out of learners, you ought to have been at Townsend High School on Thursday night.

With their School Development Committees in tow, the school heads, some of whom also came along with their senior teachers, congregated at the girls-only school on Africa Day to jointly celebrate the continent’s big day as well as raise funds for the National Association of Secondary School Heads (Nash) national conference that will be held in the resort city of Victoria Falls next month.

Clad mostly in African attire to signify the importance of the day, the school heads momentarily forgot their everyday school duties as they took to the dance floor while also being entertained by the director of ceremony for the night, the ever-energetic Sifundo Ngwenya. 

Some eye-catching  fashion was flaunted by Njube High School senior teachers, heads from Emakhandeni Secondary School, Magwegwe High School and Amhlophe High School.

Not to be outdone, the SDCs at whose doorstep the heads’ conference success lies as they are the ones who determine whether the money is released or not, also joined in and showed one or two footwork although St Columbu’s High School’s SDC were clearly the best dancers.

The objective of the night, according to Amhlophe High School headmistress and acting Nash Bulawayo metropolitan province chairperson Thokozile Tshabalala, was to raise about US$2 000 on the night which will add to the main conference hosting budget of US$15 000.

“We are having our Africa Day fundraising dinner, commemorating this great day for the people of Africa and also fundraising for our trip to Victoria Falls for the Nash conference. We want to assist each other to make sure that every school head attends this important conference because that is where we share notes on best practices in running our schools. Tonight, we are hoping to raise between US$1 500 and US$2 000 but the overall budget for the national conference is US$15 000.

“The Nash Conference is an opportunity for school heads to learn from fellow colleagues and yes, it’s also a time for us to take a break from the ever-busy and taxing daily schedules at our schools,” said Tshabalala.

 

The Nash Conference, just like the National Association of Primary School Heads (Naph) Conference is an annual gathering of school heads outside their learning institutions’ environments. 

It provides them with an opportunity to interact and share ideas as well as discuss the latest issues affecting education in the country, equip each other and share the best and even worst experiences in the running of their respective schools.

Addressing her colleagues, members of the SDC as well as the business community in attendance, Tshabalala said the Nash Conference  was not just a sight-seeing outing but a serious engagement time for the school heads where policies can also be shaped.

“There is only one night when people will get to go sight-seeing and dance, the rest of the days are serious times. We will be in serious engagements where we will also be challenging each other to improve our schools and get to the next best level. 

“Some of our schools also record low marks in national examinations and it’s an opportunity to learn from those who always do well so I want us, especially some SDCs, to demystify this notion that ohead sebesiyakudla imali yesikolo eFolosi, that is not true at all,” said Tshabalala.

Some of the corporates that were in attendance included Brisk Trading, Safmark Marketing, Dashel Investments and Auccosea Investments Pvt Ltd.

Auccosea Investments director Lindiwe Ncube said they are excited to partner Nash and be part of the education empowerment programme.

“We were invited by our partners Nash to their fundraising which also provided us with an opportunity to engage with the school heads under one roof. Besides it being an opportunity for us to grow, it is our interest to get to find out the challenges facing schools and see where we can help. 

“We will be going to the national conference as well and we are aware that some schools from remote areas like Binga, Tsholotsho and Nkayi for instance may have learners who are struggling in terms of school fees and other educational materials and as Auccosea Investments, we may come in and assist such underprivileged children,” said Ncube whose company supplies a wide variety of school stationery and furniture. —@skhumoyo2000