Despite the mission by the Department of Basic Education to provide quality education, financial investment in education and legislation reform, South Africa has been largely unsuccessful in raising the educational outcomes and performance of historically disadvantaged learners in roughly 20 000 of the 25 000 public schools in the country.
Locally born businesswoman Melanie Burke, after a recent visit to her primary school and surrounds, witnessed first-hand how South Africa’s education system is failing the children of her hometown.
“Under these challenging circumstances, it is not surprising that passionate and caring school principals are often overwhelmed and discouraged by what they are expected to do, with few benefitting from leadership development and other much-needed support. This poses a significant challenge to education in South Africa, and it is, therefore, a significant risk to the country,” said Melanie Burke, chairperson of Citizen Leader Lab, a non-profit well-known for its flagship programme Partners for Possibility (PfP).
Since 2010 Partners for Possibility, a leadership development and principal support programme has been responding to this need by partnering school principals and business leaders in a year-long, co-learning experience that has impacted more than 1.5 million lives in and around under-resourced schools.
Support to real-world issues in under-resourced schools
The aim of the programme is to develop support and structures for collaboration, networking, and professional learning communities to engage with real-world issues in under-resourced schools across the country.
“So far, almost 3 500 leaders have participated in and benefitted from involvement in the programme. We need to, and can, do more to mobilise citizens to create the future we want for our country.”
Quinton Uren, Managing Director of Jendamark Automation, is no stranger to education interventions and when the opportunity arose to participate in the internationally acclaimed, multi award-winning Partners for Possibility (PfP) programme, he was excited to be partnered with Zamuxolo Mapakati, principal of Newell High School in New Brighton.
‘’Jendamark has always had a space in learning systems for operators on assembly lines. However, I joined Partners for Possibility because it was different from any of the education initiatives I had been involved in. The PfP programme gave me better insight into the challenges schools face on the ground. I wanted to continue to make a difference,’’ says Uren.
Over the past five years, principals of more than 30 schools in Gqeberha, Kariega and the Sundays River Valley have participated in the PfP programme.
“It was wonderful to experience belonging to a learning community where education leaders are developed and supported to be better equipped to lead, enabling better outcomes for our learners,” says Alicia Baatjes, principal of Sapphire Road Primary School, who was partnered with Lee-Anne Pattle, the general manager of Drake Training Academy.
Business leaders are invited to be co-learning and co-action partners to school principals in under-resourced communities in a carefully designed and facilitated year-long programme.
“This capacity building programme enables learning to occur when participants tackle real and significant challenges at these schools and engage with peers who are also grappling with tough challenges in a facilitated community of practice,” said Burke.
“If you are a business leader who would like to develop your capacity to lead in today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world, Partners for Possibility is for you.”
- If you would like to be a Partner for Possibility, please contact Gillian Logiotis at gillian@citizenleaderlab.org.za or visit our website www.citizenleaderlab.org for more stories of possibility, impact and ways to partner with us.
