EXCITEMENT filled the air at Port Shepstone Primary School last Thursday as more than 3 000 people joined former and present faculty members and administrators in celebrating the school’s 50th anniversary.
The day’s events included various speakers and past principals; guests included deputy mayor Ronnie Nair, officials from the Ugu District Department of Education and well-wishers.
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Past principals, teachers, past parents and pupils, together with present teachers and parents, enjoyed great music from the band ‘In Common’ as well as a stunning performance by pupils which had parents and guests enthralled from beginning to end. At the end a scrumptious meal was enjoyed by pupils and guests.
Brief history
August 4,1914, marked the humble beginnings of Indian education in Port Shepstone, where 32 pupils were housed in a building in Reynolds Street.
The school then moved into new premises on August 24, 1915, to a cottage near the railway station in Port Shepstone.
On October 25 1916 the enrolment stood at 44 pupils, 42 boys and two girls. By May 1, 1917, there were three well-defined classrooms and a grade (standard 1) class and the enrolment was 62 pupils.
In 1926 the Port Shepstone Hindu Educational Society came into being and it was the society’s mission to provide a suitable school for the growing Indian population.
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An old blacksmith’s shop at the corner of Escombe and Bazley streets was purchased. In June 1929 the school achieved Government school status and the enrolment stood at 144.
In July 1935, the school moved to the old government hospital building in Smuts Avenue, which was provided by the government.
The year 1944 saw a prolific growth in pupil enrolment and, due to the lack of space, 60 pupils were turned away. This prompted the construction of a new classroom.
In January 1952 the Port Shepstone Government Indian (Afternoon Platoon) School was established with 181 pupils. When the platoon system ended in 1960 the enrolment had reached 480 pupils.
Present building
In the early sixties, land was purchased by the state in Andreasen Street for the building of a proper primary school and building commenced in earnest.
On April 12, 1967, pupils and staff moved to its new premises. This momentous occasion saw the principal Mr R Loganathan with 22 teachers and 677 pupils occupy the new and present building.
Principal address
In his address, present principal, Sathananda Naidu, said the ethos at the school is to always provide an all-inclusive, quality education at a reasonable cost to parents.
“Building this meaningful relationship of trust throughout these years was made possible by stalwarts, which included past principals, teachers and the community.
We, as teachers, commit ourselves wholeheartedly to our calling in our endeavours to mould our pupils into useful, productive and meaningful citizens of our land,” he said. He also said that, in the school’s history, they have seen many positive changes and developments.
Departmental address
Jaya Pillay of the Ugu District Department of Education said,“It is evident from the rich tapestry that forms the history of Port Shepstone Primary that the founding fathers were clearly visionaries who, at the height of apartheid oppression, realised that education would form the chief cornerstone of liberation and, therefore, set about building a school which, today, stands as a proud symbol of the triumph of the human spirit,” he said.
The current enrolment at the school from grade R to grade 7 stands at 1 026 pupils.
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