Sad passing of local principal

STAFF and pupils at Birdswood Secondary have been left shocked and saddened by the death of principal Jethro Qwabe.

Suffering from a short illness, Qwabe died in the early hours of Sunday.

He spent close to 30 years in education. Messages of support have poured in from the community and teaching fraternity.

The school have pledged to follow in his footsteps and work towards keeping his legacy alive by striving to be the best performing high school.

Always leading by example and practicing what he preached, Qwabe set the tone for the school to strive for excellence.

Appointed as principal in 2010, the school opened its doors to the first Grade 8 pupils in 2011 and he was instrumental in the school’s success to date.

He was extremely proud of the school’s choir which won several competitions last year and was passionate about empowering and developing the Grade 11 class to produce a 100% pass rate in 2015.

Department of Education Circuit Manager S Madondo said his death is such a great loss for the school, community and the education fraternity.

‘He was such a dedicated and illustrious principal who was looking forward to producing his first matric class next year.

‘His experience, expertise and skills will be irreplaceable and he will be missed dearly. He played a pivotal role in building up the school,’ said Madondo.

Qwabe taught at Sikhulangemsundo School in eSikhaleni and was a lecturer at University of Zululand before taking up the post at Birdswood Secondary.