She is leading by example

Born and bred in Daveyton Dr Disekeletšo Saboshego’s passion for education has yielded great academic rewards.

On April 18, she was conferred a PhD from the University of South Africa for her research in training provided to school governing bodies in managing school finances.

“When I got my diploma, my father was not satisfied. He wanted his children to have degrees, but I negotiated with him to allow me to start working, and I promised to study part-time towards my degree,” she explains.

Saboshego’s teaching career started in Kwagafontein in 1997, and she remained in Mpumalanga for two decades.

At that time, she obtained her degree, and in 2017 she was conferred her Master’s Degree for her research in financial management in no-fee schools.

“I started the research proposal for my PhD in 2018. But that is also the year that I became a deputy principal for the first time,” she added.

Saboshego finally moved her career to Kwa-Thema and became the principal at Redumeletswe Primary School.

“A few months after I started there, I was interviewed for the role at Lefa Ifa Secondary School. Then I got it,” she said.

She admits that leading Lefa Ifa has not been easy.

“It was very rocky. There were days when I would just come into my office and cry, but I would not quit. I knew we could turn this school around for the better,” she explained.

For many years, Lefa Ifa Secondary School remained at the bottom of the list in the NCS exams. But in 2023, Lefa Ifa was the most improved school in Kwa-Thema, Kwatsaduza and Gauteng East for 2022. The school improved from 53.4% to 75.2% matric pass rate.

“I was so excited. Our hard work finally paid off,” said Saboshego.

She also observed a positive change in the attitudes of the staff and learners.

“The learners are now the ones who are asking for extra lessons. They have seen how putting in effort gets us better results. Even our teachers are willing to work after hours,” she explains.

The school already had a few camps in preparation for the June exams.

“We can restore the dignity of our school. I want parents to choose this school as their first preference when they apply. I want the community to respect our teachers,” she added.

Saboshego said they aim for a 90% matric pass rate this year.