Colosa High alumni for 70th anniversary

COLOSA High School, situated on the outskirts of Dutywa, will be a hive of activity today as the school’s alumni, including former Eastern Cape education MEC Professor Shepherd Maytala, meet for the first time to celebrate the school’s 70th anniversary.

This gathering, with the main aim of improving the school academically and its infrastructure, brings together former pupils and teachers as far back as the 1960s to recent graduates.

“Colosa alumni are now movers and shakers of the sociopolitical and economic landscapes in South Africa,” said anniversary convener and chief organiser Dr Malixole Percy Mahlathi, who is director of the Selizwe Leadership Academy.

“Its alumni have rallied together to discuss and search for workable solutions to help in the development of the school Already several alumni-generated projects have been initiated and implemented, including a leadership development programme started in early 2017 and an inaugural exam camp. The entire initiative was born out of concerns emanating from poor performance of the school over the years,” said Mahlathi, who is also a former pupil.

The school used to be a leading light in terms of its academic and sporting achievements. “However, the Grade 12 results over the past 10 years give a different picture. The year 2016 was devastating as the school scored a 61% failure rate, meaning only 39% passed their matric examinations,” Mahlathi said, adding that in 2017 the passrate was 42.5%

Invited guests include AmaXhosa King Zwelonke Sigcawu, former principals, as well as vice-chancellor of Unisa Professor Barney Pityana who will be guest speaker, prominent businessmen including Bheki Sibiya, Sipho Nkosi of Exxaro; Mbhashe mayor Samkelo Janda, speaker of Amathole district municipality Nceba Ndikinda will also be in attendance, among others.

The event will be celebrated in two phases – one during the day at Colosa High School followed by a gala dinner in the evening at King Hintsa TVET College in Dutywa.

Colosa High School was begun in 1947. Over 70 years it has grown to a current staff complement of 32 teachers and about 900 pupils and in this time it has been led by 12 principals.

Mahlathi warned that reinventing the winning formula for Colosa would not be easy. “It requires long-term investment into processes, systems, human capital and infrastructure. It also requires commitment from interested and affected parties.” —