Just as the father of the nation, Nelson Mandela, became the first black president of South Africa, newly appointed Jozua Naude principal Fyters Mzwakhe Hlatshwayo also is rewriting the school’s history books.
In its 94 years of existence the school in Horison recently welcomed its first-ever black principal in Hlatshwayo. He was appointed as of 4 April 2014 following the retirement of long-timer Faan Barnard. Hlatshwayo is the seventh principal in the school’s history.
Barnard and Hlatshwayo seem to share similar interests and passions as well, such as supporting SA football giants Orlando Pirates and their love of education.
Hlatshwayo has 16 years’ experience in education of which seven were as teacher followed by two years as Head of Department (HOD). He was employed as a Senior Education Specialist at the JHB West District for another seven years and was responsible for managing the Natural Sciences curriculum for 166 schools. He then was appointed acting principal at Samuel Mangala Primary School in Dobsonville and WK Maponyane Primary School in Meadowlands Zone 9 respectively.
He says there he learnt good management skills and strived toward becoming a principal. In addition Hlatshwayo was an acting DCES: Senior Phase at District JHB West from July 2012 for almost 10 months.
“Education wasn’t my first choice as a career and as a youngster I never foresaw becoming a principal,” Hlatshwayo says.
“I wanted to pursue extractive metallurgy (the science of extracting metal from ore, purifying it, and recycling it – source:www.arizonagoldprospectors.com) but financial constraints prevented me from pursuing this path,” he adds.
When he realised that he cared about people from all walks of life, he chose a career in education.
“Education provided me with the opportunity to understand people. Furthermore, I wanted to contribute towards building a nation, and teaching offered such an opportunity.”
Asked how he felt when he received the call about his appointment as principal, Hlatshwayo replied, “I was overwhelmed, excited and surprised as I almost had given up because of the delay in making the appointment. But it was a good feeling to get that letter of appointment.
“To be honest, this is my biggest break. It’s an opportunity to see where my potential lies.
“This obviously is a big responsibility; something one takes very seriously but also should embrace. I want to leave a legacy behind and contribute something.”
Hlatshwayo thanks everybody, such as the stakeholders and members of the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) for their blessing and giving him the opportunity to show what he can do.
Hlatshwayo adds that his main source of inspiration and motivation in life is his two children, his wife and God.
He vows to improve the performance of pupils at the school by introducing programmes that will enhance their language and mathematics skills. He says a homework centre has been established already.
“My mission is to work collaboratively with all stakeholders in education to ensure that every child leaves our institution with the required skills, attitude and knowledge to use at high school and in their adult life,” he concludes.
