As Manuel Govender reflects on his journey as the first non-white principal of Newcastle High School (NHS), he reaches for a file that has been tucked away on his bookshelf for 18 years.

His expression is hard to read as he peruses the contents …dozens of letters from learners, teachers and parents …

A precious few offering anonymous words of encouragement, far too many imbued with disgust and loathing for a person the writers didn’t even know.

During the course of his interview with Northern Natal News, Govender expressed a mixed bag of ‘bitter-sweet’ emotions from sadness and incredulity to vindication, deep pride and joy.

Govender, himself, requested the letters at his first assembly at NHS back in February 2008.

Unfortunately, he did not get the warm welcome he naively believed he would as he took to the podium to introduce himself on his first day as principal. 

Instead, several learners began to boo, while others belted out the lyrics to ‘De La Rey’ before walking out of the school hall while the assembly was still underway.

What he had to say in that first assembly didn’t matter …They wanted him gone before he had uttered a single word.

A difficult beginning shapes a remarkable journey

At that assembly, Govender asked the remaining learners to write to him, so he could see things from their perspective and try to understand it. “I want to know what you’re feeling,” he said to them. “Let me read your letters and see where I can help.”

“We don’t want you, please go,” said one letter.

“Ons soek ‘n nuwe hoof,” said another.

“Anyway I wish you luck with your next few years …or minutes …as principal,” said a third.

Even the teachers wrote to him.

“We don’t deserve all this political nonsense that you are causing. You are chasing away our friends.”

And then there were others, “I have no problem with our new principal. He confirmed to us that he cares about education.”

“I personally want to give you as an individual a chance because we all deserve a chance …Do not give up.”

And, “Mr Govender, I must say you HOT!”

“I wanted to read the letters and see where I could help. I did not respond to the hateful letters, but where there were genuine issues with text books or the school curriculum, for instance, I could do something immediately to rectify that,” said Govender.

Despite Governder’s best efforts, what followed in the next couple of days is a phenomenon described in the national media as ‘white flight’.

On Govender’s first day, 760 of the school’s 950 learners were white. In May of 2018 (10 years later), the Sunday Times reported that that there were only nine white learners enrolled at the school. Today (2026), that number is down to one.

Mr Govender’s appointment at the school triggered a mass exodus of white learners who transferred to neighbouring school, Ferrum High School.

Some of his white staff also chose to place themselves back in the unemployment pool rather than work under his leadership, while others accepted a knock in salary to teach elsewhere.

“It was tough. It WAS tough,” Govender concedes.

Like the letters, Govender compartmentalised his inner turmoil, and shelved it for later.

He didn’t have a choice.

“I had to make sure the school functions. I had to be strong to face these unique challenges,” he said.

“When I came to NHS, I expected a warm welcome. It was only when I walked into that first assembly that I realised I was going to have a battle, but I took it on. I decided to stay and fight, and it was well worth it. I put on a strong front so no one would see what was going on inside me.”

“People believed the school would ‘go down’ under a non-white principal,” he continued.

“Today I feel proud of myself, eventhough I don’t like to say it, of proving people wrong. Proving people wrong was never my intention. My intention was to come here and run a successful school, and I think I have done that. I didn’t come here with the intention of having to prove my worth, but they forced me to do that. It was sad to me that human beings can behave that way towards each other.

“…But I would do it all over again just to give hope to people who think they can’t do things in adverse conditions. You can endure and come out better.”

From resistance to respect: Building a lasting legacy

Govender boasts that NHS remains among the top performing schools in the Amajuba District, and has earned numerous awards for its sustained academic excellence and as well its performance in the matric exams.

“When we talk excellent academic performance, we need to be realistic. We can get 100% pass rate and no quality passes. When you talk about quality passes, you talk about how many learners to get access to university,” Govender explains.

“NHS is always hovering around a 96% to 97% pass rate, but our bachelor and diploma passes give more than 90% of our students an opportunity to go to tertiary institutions. It’s not just that they pass, they must pass well enough that they have an opportunity for further studies.”

Govender is equally proud of the fact that sports and culture activities at the school continue to achieve accolades at national and even international standard.

Sports and culture isn’t always supported in a non-white school environment, the way it is supported in the white community. To be able to ensure that it is sustained, and reaches the levels that it has, always makes me so proud,” he said.

“Our children are selected to participate in provincial and national levels for various codes of sport, including rugby and hockey. Our gold award winning choir will soon compete in a big Sun City competition in August. They were invited to perform in Bratislava, but due to funding issues they cannot make it there. However, just being invited to perform abroad shows the talent that they have.”

As principal of NHS, Govender has navigated his learners and staff through many challenges and some equally difficult transitions, including changes in education policies, staff and resource challenges, the Covid 19 pandemic, advancements in technology and the social ills that accompanied it, issues with drugs and alcohol, and behavioural issues that arise from learners’ difficult home situations and manifest in the school environment.

“What an amazing journey, I must say,” he laughs.

This week, he leaves to the Western Cape, where he has promoted to Chief Education Specialist (CES): Circuit Manager within the Metro North Education District of the Western Cape Education Department (WCED).

“My new role is Chief Education Specialist will see me supervising more than 20 schools. I will have the opportunity to capacitate and develop the principals of the schools within my circuit, who, hopefully, have the passion that I have for education, and bring about turnaround strategies for their schools. In doing so, I hope to their schools be as successful as Newcastle High School,” Govender explains.

Last Thursday (June 25) Govender attended his final assembly as principal of NHS.

The sentiment expressed by learners and staff was quite different to his first assembly.

The rapport he has developed with his NHS family was clear in the nicknames he has earned over the years, including, “Mgovu, Mr G, and Big Brother.”

And the messages to Govender were also different…

“It is impossible not acknowledge what an incredible principal he has been.”

“If it wasn’t for you encouragement, I wouldn’t be among the top learners in the district …Our school loses more than an administrator, it loses a mentor and a nurturer. You were, in fact, our father. A father to all the learners at the school who never knew what they could achieve.”

“He has taught us countless lesson, not just the lessons contained in books, but lessons for life.”

“Today we say goodbye to someone who was much more than our principal, someone who gave us, not only an education, but the opportunities to be great.”

And from the teachers and Student Governing Body (SGB)…

“When you came aboard as the captain of this ship 18 years ago, the waters were rough. There were lots of icebergs. But you steered us to clear waters, demonstrating the resilience of a true leader.”

“No matter where your journey takes you, you will always remain a valued member of the NHS family.”

Looking back through the letters he received 18 years ago, Govender admits, “I don’t know why (I kept all of these). It was just instinct. But I’m glad I did …because it shows me how I’ve grown.”

He continued, “When I started at the school, there was zero trust. I was a non-white taking over a white school …There was zero trust. I had to build that trust from ground zero. Now, when I see the comments made by staff, learners and even parents, it warms my heart so much to know they value my contribution to their children and to the community.

“People, when I meet, them now ask, ‘How did you survive?’ and I say, ‘I don’t know. God’s strength alone.’”

Govender had this message for the next principal of NHS, “Love my children. These are my children. You must love them, irrespective of whether they are poor or rich, if they come from the slums or from the plushest of communities, you must love them equally.”

And to the school…

“Whoever is here, irrespective of race or gender, give them your 100% support as you have given me.”

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