Lowveld High welcomes new acting principal

For the second time in less than two years Lowveld High has a new acting principal at its helm.

The newly appointed Mbongeni Sibande, the first black principal to head this school, had been at the school for a week when Lowvelder visited his office on April 25.  As is to be expected his office is minimally decorated and on his desk was his laptop and a copy of his favourite book, John C Maxwell’s Developing the Leader Within You.

Before arriving at Lowveld High’s doorstep, Sibande had been the principal of Khutsalani Secondary School in KaBokweni for 10 years and its deputy for five.
Prior to that he had spent 16 years at Khaliphani Secondary School in KaNyamazane. His first three years there were as a teacher, after which he became the HOD for accounting.

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Upon the mention of accounting, Sibande proudly took out his cellphone to show this journalist a photo of one of his star learners who had achieved 100% in accounting in her matric year.

He said he is still finding his feet, but is up for the challenge. “I am a public servant and here to render a service.”  Faced with the matter of changing management at the school, Sibande admitted that this was concerning. “It affects the school negatively and the issue of stability is a major concern.”

He said, though, that in his short time there he has received the necessary support from relevant stakeholders, from the teachers to the school governing body (SGB).

The spokesperson for the Department of Education in the province, Jasper Zwane, said Sibande was appointed “following a due process that had been initiated by the SGB”.  “The decision to appoint him is administrative and was taken in the best interest of the school.”

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Sibande said there is room for change at the school, but he will interact with relevant parties before making changes.  “You cannot come and think you can just change everything; you will get resistance.”

He said learners and parents will have an important role to play in the changes to come. “They must own the school as theirs.”  Sibande also invited teachers to share their worries and ideas.

“My door is always open for everyone to share their concerns and what they think we can do to make it better.  “We must join hands to make sure we take this great institution to greater heights. It is very easy to destroy something; to build is a huge task. We must reverse the negative and that will be a lot of work.”
Zwane said the department requested all role players to support Sibande, his school management team and the SGB as they execute their duties.

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