School and community
KZN school soars from pass rate of 55% to 97%
Parents ululated and sang as they came to fetch the results of this year’s Grade 12 students at Dr Nembula High School in Adams Mission, south of Durban. Parents and teachers embraced one another joyfully and reflected on how far the school has come.
Principal Mduduzi Nzimande has only been at the school for four years, but his impact has been phenomenal, as he has led the school from a 55% matric pass rate in 2019 to a 97% pass rate in 2024. The high school was at one point only achieving a lowly 14% pass rate.
“Discipline, empathy and collaboration” are some of the words Nzimande uses when he describes what has created the gradual shift in the school.
“I listen to the teachers and make sure that they feel supported every step of the way. This [changes] how they teach and discipline the children,” said Nzimande.
The deputy principal, Thobile Gcwensa, echoed this, saying Nzimande is hands-on and an anchor. Gcwensa is also the geography teacher and is elated that her class achieved a 100% pass rate.
The teachers say the success is a result of an active student governing body that helps them to maintain discipline and looks out for students who have difficulties at home.
Gcwensa says the school partners with organisations such as Bobbi Bear and others that provide professional psychosocial support to pupils. The school has a feeding scheme, but students say the teachers take money from their own pockets to provide breakfast or dinner when the matric class does extra time.
Some of the school’s top-achieving students got six distinctions, including in challenging subjects such as mathematics, physics and accounting.
Nhlakanipho Ngcobo (19), who received six distinctions in the science stream, says he wants to study to be a doctor. He is grateful for the support and recognition from his teachers, and says he was sent to Kutlwanong, a centre that helps students who are great at mathematics and science. This helped him to achieve his distinctions.
Boniswa Mfeka (22) obtained a diploma in 2018 and returned because she didn’t qualify for her chosen career as an accountant or auditor. “I managed my time well and many of us spent Monday to Sunday here, in study groups and extra classes, and that helped.
“Matric has a lot of pressure, so having a hobby and kind teachers helped a lot,” said Mfeka.
Nzimande has built a reputation for helping to steer schools with low or less-thanaverage performances. Gcwensa says she encouraged him to apply to work at the school, as she had seen his work in Siphephele Secondary School, near Durban.