Record Number of Students Graduate Through Educational Leadership, Management and Policy Discipline

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A record number of 34 postgraduate students - 30 masters candidates and four PhD’s - received their degrees through the Educational Leadership, Management and Policy (ELMP) Discipline within the School of Education in the College of Humanities. 

Speaking about the increasing number of students graduating from the discipline, Cluster Leader Dr Thamsanqa Bhengu expressed his appreciation for the increased number of MEd and PhD graduates over the past few years.

‘We are noticing a gradual increase and we hope to maintain the upward trajectory,’ said Bhengu. ‘We attribute this success to a number of factors, including the cohort support programme we provide for our students - especially masters students,  the commitment and dedication of staff members, and the meticulous planning which is based on our University’s goal of increased production of research students.

‘As part of our plan, we will continue to increase research capacity to our students by providing support programmes which are aimed at ensuring that students complete their degrees on time. We hope that the University will continue to support us in our endeavour to increase intake and throughput rates.’

UKZN staff members who have assisted in increasing the number of graduates from the ELMP discipline are Dr Thamsanqa Thulani Bhengu, Dr Siphiwe Eric Mthiyane, Dr Inbanathan Naicker, Professor Vitallis Chikoko, Dr Phumlani Myende and Mr Sibusiso Bayeni.

PhD graduate and Circuit Manager for the KZN Department of Education, Dr Perumal Naicker, sees the increase as a sign that leadership is contributing to positive change and the overall transformation process.

His research examined the Struggle for Quality Education in South Africa and focused on the dynamics of how rural and township learners were integrated into urban schools.

Naicker’s findings show that even though the country was going through the transformation process, policies and legislation should promote the Transformation Agenda and that government should take on the role of enablers to facilitate the transition.

He noted there were various factors which came into play during the integration process of moving rural/township learners to urban schools such as language barriers, cultural differences and the knowledge gap but that once these learners were exposed to the calibre of academic work in urban schools, they become proficient in it.

Naicker said in the 1990s he was appointed principal at a rural school which had a 4% pass rate.  He increased that to an 80% rate, maintaining high standards of education at the school for more than a decade. Seeing learners perform better academically and how communities were transformed with quality education, sparked Naicker’s interest in pursuing the topic for his PhD thesis.

Head of the Department for Commerce at the Margate Middle School on the South Coast, Mr Sithembele Ndovela, spoke about the joy of earning his Masters in Education through UKZN. ‘I am very happy to finally graduate. Doing my masters has allowed me to contribute academically at my school and to grow professionally. My lecturers have been very supportive and motivated me to complete my dissertation.’

Ndovela’s research explored collaborative learning in schools in the Ugu District.

Another graduate from the Discipline, Ms Yachna Gowpall, who is an English teacher at Westridge High School, said studying for her masters degree at UKZN had allowed her to grow as a person as she was exposed to ‘a different and larger paradigm’ which impacted positively on her as an educator.

‘It’s really great to see the Discipline of Educational Leadership, Management and Policy working towards getting more students to pursue postgraduate study. What the students learn from their studies will enable them to lead their communities and schools to new heights.’

Gowpall’s research examines Instructional Leadership in the Promotion of Teaching and Learning in schools where she focused on the support and facilities afforded to Teaching and Learning to increase student learning.  Her overall findings show that instructional leadership plays a pivotal role in the promotion of Teaching and Learning.

Both students said they wanted to continue their studies and complete PhDs at UKZN.

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