Principal delivers top results from the grave

The small and cluttered principal's office at Menzi High School in Umlazi, Durban, was a hive of activity yesterday as teachers gathered to count the number of distinctions obtained by their pupils in the 2015 matric exams.

This year Felix Mshololo was not there to hug and praise each pupil as he had done for the past 20 years. But the late principal's winning "system" lives on as the school achieved a 100% pass rate for a fifth year in a row.

"It was not an easy year. But when Mr Mshololo died in February, we knew we had to soldier on. We did not aim for a 100% pass rate because a 100% pass rate is a norm at Menzi High. We wanted to produce results of quality. People said we would never be able to do it without him but we have improved our bachelor passes from 93% to 96%," principal Patrick Tenza said.

Tenza and his staff continued with the system Mshololo devised when he took over in the 1990s at a time when the school's pass rate sat at 26%.

Since then classes have begun at 6.30am. For matrics, the day ends at 4pm. No teacher is ever late or absent and the school remains open during the first two weeks of each school holiday.

"I thank the teachers. They have made this system work. All eyes were on us to see if we could perform without Mr Mshololo but the system worked because our teachers were dedicated to it," said matriculant Simlindile Gumede.

"There are too many distinctions to count so it is taking time," laughed teacher Muntu Ntombela.

She readily accepted Mshololo's system when he introduced it.

"We were frustrated. The results were too poor and we were willing to change the way the school worked," she said.

Tenza said teachers went the extra mile because the "child comes first at Menzi High".

"Everything we do here is for the child. We don't want anything in return. We just want the child to excel," he said.

Matriculant Tebogo Goqo said he had no plans to celebrate his results.

"I think the pupils here have forgotten how to party because since Grade 8 we've been in school almost every day, from early morning to late afternoon," he said.

In 2010 Mshololo told The Times: "I don't need any fancy award or even recognition because my award comes every year when I see the results and I know that my pupils are going to make something of their lives."