* The following appeared in the Natal Mercury of August 6, 1907:
“We have received a badly composed letter purporting to come from parents of children attending the Indian school at Ladysmith, the headmaster of which they allege to have been recently dismissed by the Education Department without any reason given. The petitions against the dismissal forwarded to the Department in May and June last have, the letter also states, been ignored, and the Indian community have therefore established a school on their own, and have recalled the master in question, being perfectly satisfied with his teaching and general treatment of the children”. In 1908, the Indian School situated in Keate Street was taken over by the department. Mr BB Mahato was appointed first principal.
There was dissatisfaction within the Indian community, which resulted in the aforementioned article in the Natal Mercury. I am unable to establish the longevity of that particular school, save to conclude that it did not last too long. Notwithstanding that it can be surmised that the gusto of the Indian community to educate their children did not diminish.
* According to the Golden Jubilee Supplement that appeared in the Ladysmith Gazette dated May 9, 1964, the Ladysmith Government Indian School, as it was then known, opened on February 2, 1914.
The romanticism attached to February 14 (St Valentine’s Day) adds a mysterious quality to this venerable institution.
Be that as it may, the school opened with a pupil enrolment of 70. By May, the number increased to 106 and to 115 by December of that year. There were only boys up to that point.
The first headmaster was Mr MK Naidoo and the first assistant teacher was Mr T Thotharam, who was joined on March 9 by Mr SP Hayes as an ungraded teacher. Incidentally, it was the same Mr Hayes who operated the projectors in the Athlone Cinema where Northern Motors is currently situated in Queen Street.
The first five girls enrolled were Vengetamah Sengiabee Naidoo, Rosy Samuel, Lizzie Johnson and Allen Sophie, who were enrolled in Class 1, and Katherine Samuel was enrolled in Class 2.
Coincidentally, the First World War broke out in 1914, but classes continued at the school. By 1918, when the war ended, the enrolment had increased to 193. In the same year, a large number of six- and seven-year-olds were refused admission because of space constraints.
In 1925, the department relented and permission was obtained to use the Hindu Thirukootam Hall in Forbes Street. This was used from then till only 1932 because attendance dropped. However, when the enrolment increased again in 1937, the Congregational Church Hall was used, followed by the hire of the Berlin Mission Church. These two church halls became the legendary Tin School and wrote its own history. They were used until 1956 when the prefabricated classrooms were erected that year.
The first Standard 5 class was introduced in 1918, the first Standard 6 class in 1932 and the first Standard 7 class in 1941. On February 6, 1946, the school changed its name to Ladysmith Government Indian Secondary School in view of secondary classes introduced. Until 1954, Standard 8 was the highest class and in 1955 the introduction of Standard 9 conferred ‘high school’ status. In 1956, the first matriculation class was inducted. To match this occasion, the magazine ‘Sacrificium’ was launched. This title was indeed a worthy corollary!
* The very first pupil admitted in 1914 was Mr Essop J Khan of 13 Queen Street (grandfather of Mr GRI Khan). The first lot of matric pupils were HMD Asmal, IH Badat, MN Chinnah, BK Chinnah, U Dathibool, ME Goga, CI Hattia, AAI Khan, GRI Khan, RG Magan, KB Maharaj, D Parag, GG Pillay, SM Pillay, SMI Rassool, AE Suleman, AHI Vorajee and the only female SL Sewgolam.
