Farewell Mr Kistasamy

Glenhills Primary School principal, Christy Kistasamy bids teaching farewell as he retires at the end of March, leaving big shoes to fill.

Kistasamy leaves a legacy of passionate teaching while sincerely caring for his pupils and making a tangible difference to their lives. The 65-year-old veteran does not look like a man who should be retiring and attributes this to his staff keeping him young.

He qualified as a teacher in 1972 at the Transvaal College of Education in Johannesburg, specialising in English and History.

“History helped me to understand South African politics later as the transformation happened,” said Kistasamy.

His long and illustrious career included working with his old teachers at his alma mater, Parukabad primary school in Glendale and at his other alma mater, Stanger Secondary.

While at Stanger Secondary as head of the languages department he was head hunted for the headmaster position at the then troubled Glenhills Primary School.

He was given 30 days to decide if he would accept the offer or stay at Stanger Secondary, which he was very fond of.

“It was a difficult decision to leave ‘home’ but God directed me to accept the challenge.”

“Working with a school where about half of the pupils do not pay school fees, with primary caregivers that rely on pensions, child support grants or are unemployed, rekindled my passion for education and inspired me to do something for pupils and the community.”

Today the school has gained ‘international status’ through its ties with United Kingdom (UK) school, Lutterworth High. The school visited Glenhills Primary for the first time last year to assist in literacy and sport.

“My initiative has seen 1 200 books donated last year from the UK and today we have 6 000 new and used books in our library.”

The programme incorporates reading, literacy, creative arts and sport.

The two schools’ pupils have stayed in contact during the year, communicating on a regular basis.

“I thought it would be a once-off thing but we formed a deep link with Lutterworth principal, Nora Parker and it has now been established as an annual event.”

Poor children have a special place in Kistasamy’s heart and Glenhills Primary now feed 200 hungry pupils per day.

“One day at school, I heard a deep cry that touched me. It was not a cry of physical pain, but of hunger. It was a cry that I had not heard before and I knew I had to do something.”

During his interview with the Courier, Kistasamy said the department of education did not really understand and know what was happening on the ground. He said Glenhills Primary, for example, was built for 800 but sits with 1 247 pupils.

“How do they expect us to run overpopulated schools with limited resources?”

He said the matric results will never improve with 45 pupils in a class.

“They want to blame the schools but they should blame the system.”

He said the department should appoint more subject advisers for teachers so that they are better supported.

“We also need more personnel and better infrastructure, including toilets, grounds and sanitation.”