A Visit to an Indian Township School

On July 13th, Satyagraha set up a visit to one of the Indian townships for me to talk with a principal of a largely Indian school although mixed with some black students from the nearby black townships. This was an extremely informative visit and I also had the opportunity to “teach” a class. While, normally, students are not in school on a Saturday, all schools in South Africa need to make up time lost during the recent national strike that also included educators. Contrary to American unions, the South African Teachers Union also includes administrators which, I believe, engenders a slightly more collegial environment. The principal of the school is also heavily involved in the union.

The topic of my lesson was migration. Drawing on my own family’s immigrant roots, the students and I discussed the Indian migration to South Africa as well as rural to urban immigration of the indigenous population. Comparisons were drawn between the US and South Africa and to the reasons why people migrate. The students were very engaged asking questions ranging from how I liked South Africa to crime in America. I was also very impressed that the students could ascertain the various conditions affecting migration patterns that range from finding better employment to the desire to be free of political oppression.

The principal and I discussed many things. As a relatively new principal, I was interested in learning more about the mentorship process of administrators. While South Africa has yet to get a formal process off the ground, other than to have administrative certification coursework requirements, the principal in question has spearheaded a local principal consultancy/roundtable, on a monthly basis, with other principals in the Indian townships. In addition to administrative duties, many principals are also expected to teach one/two classes often without the aid of a vice-principal, especially in primary schools with less than 400 students. While the school in question had had a vice-principal, this person had been reassigned by the time of my interview. In the meantime, different teachers have volunteered to assume various department head duties although none of these positions are official.

From my discussion, it was clear that some administrators in South Africa feel that democracy and equality is not coming soon enough. My interview subject, as a former student leader in the ANC during the struggle to end Apartheid who had been jailed, is becoming particularly disillusioned. The national strike echoes some of their concerns. Indeed, having now seen schools in the Black, and Indian townships, as well as former white/Model C schools, it is clear that infrastructure inequities still exist as the Black schools often had no sports fields, the Indian schools had fields of varying quality, and the former model C schools – such as Durban High School – had Olympic size swimming pools and other playing fields often supported with private endowments. It is a tough problem as the SA Department of Education must maintain equal funding to former model C schools which often still receive alumni endowments, rather than instituting a sort-of reverse Apartheid system, while also helping to upgrade school facilities in the townships to an acceptable level. The principal, with whom I spoke, hopes that upgrades will include the integration of technology as it is still often unheard of in township schools. As of now, even with broadband, local phone charges are assessed in South Africa. The school that I visited must make due with an annual budget of only $20,000 US as well as on some yearly subsidies. The school, however, has had academic success which the principal credits to the implementation of a school culture that stresses academic excellence based, in part, on a commitment to values education.

As with American schools, the principal and I shared our concerns and methods by which to foster parent involvement in the school community. Indeed, this has been an “informal” challenge in the school that I visited as the principal must make Black parents feel welcome in a formerly but still largely Indian school and to highlight cultural similarities rather than differences to both students and parents. Principals must also help educate parents, in formerly oppressed communities under the Apartheid regime, to develop leadership capabilities and increase parental self-esteem. There has been some resistance to this because boundaries are no longer understood as they were under Apartheid. The principal also shared with me that it is his desire that the teaching staff also be further integrated. At this point, the teaching staff is completely of Indian descent. We also discussed the possibility of teacher/student exchanges as well as the possibility of his students contacting mine with any questions on America that they might have.