20 February 2009

By Sipho None

THE cultural diversity and educational system in South Africa has left indelible marks in the hearts of 22 visiting principals from Bangalore, in India.

The visitors interacted with educators at the Ahmed Timol Secondary School in Azaadville, Mogale City. The school was selected for the visit so that the delegation could get to grips with the cultural diversity and educational systems of the country.

The Indian entourage, mainly Christians, and led by John Zachariah, the principal of Cathedral Composite Pre-University College and High School, listened intently when principal Digvijay Nundlall Juta explained how Ahmed Timol Secondary had managed to deal with the diverse cultures in its school body.

Juta, who was accompanied by his army of educators, informed the visitors that the post-apartheid political landscape in South Africa had played in crucial role in integrating different cultures.

“As you can see our school caters for a heterogeneous population and we managed without any hiccups to deal with different races. Our school is located in an area which was predominantly Indian, [but] the school policies and admission culture changed with the political landscape since the 1994 general elections,” Juta said.

The visit would serve as a springboard and create an opportunity for the delegation to understand South Africa’s cultures and gain a better insight into the country’s education system.

“The purpose of the visit is mainly for us to exchange ideas on education and to form partnerships with other countries,” Juta said. “This is not the first time that our school has hosted principals from overseas. In the past four years we have hosted principals from London, mainly because of the heterogeneous population of the school,” he added.

The British principals would, in future, donate data projectors.

Zachariah, who spoke on behalf of the visitors, said: “We are very much impressed about the cultural diversity in South Africa and we hope that this visit will enable us to exchange ideas on various issues, particularly education and cultural programmes.

“We have visited other institutions and this educational tour created an opportunity for us to understand South African cultures, educational policies and systems, especially in the post-apartheid period.”

The group also visited the University of the Witwatersrand, the University of Johannesburg, and Stellenbosch University in Western Cape. Zachariah said his team was able to “get good inputs from the South African system. It is our desire to collectively think out of the box and this visit enabled us that opportunity.”

He asked Juta for at least two educators from the school to visit Bangalore to get an understanding of their culture. The reciprocal visit would lay a foundation to create innovative ideas and produce positive systems.

Learners at Ahmed Timol Secondary sang the national anthem, Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrica, and two learners did a Zulu stick-fighting demonstration. Fozie Patel, the personal assistant to Mogale City Executive Mayor Koketso Calvin Seerane, was also there.