The legacy of Jhugroo Primary: a monument to community spirit

IN THE early days of the pioneer Indians in South Africa, one of the main concerns was providing education for the young.

Whether it was so that their children would not suffer the way they did, or they totally grasped the value of a proper education would be something we would not know.

The fact is that government –aided schools were established and though, initially, only a few pupils enrolled, the numbers increased and larger buildings were necessary.

So too did it happen in a small village in the North Coast of Natal called Ottawa. Large estates of sugarcane fields had many Indians living and working on it, and by the1930s the Indians also started buying land in the area. Among the pioneering families were Badri Maharaj, the Nursinghs, Bedi Badlu family, Kista Pather, Gobinder Sirkar, Abdul Rahman and the Jugroo family of Mount Vernon.

Prior to 1936, the parents of Ottawa Village, Ottawa Estate, Mt Vernon, Sykes Estate and Waterloo Estate sent their children for primary education to schools in Verulam and Umdloti. A few went to the Mount Edgecombe School. Only boys were sent to school while the girls were kept at home because of the great distances they had to walk.

As the school population increased, the elders became concerned about the number of children who received no education at all. Many youngsters would be seen carrying farming implements like hoes and joining their parents to work on the sugar fields, weeding. These people realised that some form of education was necessary for their children.

At an inaugural meeting in 1936, held in a cottage (which later became the first private school), J. Kissoon was elected Chairman and Perithumby Subrayen, the secretary of the Ottawa School Board.

Members of the school board walked great distances to Trenance Estate, Ottawa Estate, Blackburn Estate and Mount Vernon to seek out pupils eligible for school. When enough pupils were found, the first school opened in a cottage, well known as Dickie Maharaj’s home. This school was named Jhugroo Private Indian School, to honour the father of the J Kissoon brothers. Classes from introductory to standard three were held in one long room with blackboards on either of the side walls. The first two teachers were Janakiepersadh Juggath and Perumal Subrayen.

However, the “cottage” school became insufficient to meet the demands of the people so the Board, under the leadership of Mr Kissoon Jhugroo, decided to build a larger school on land that was owned by his family. The Kissoon Jhugroo brothers with a few helpers set about building a wood and iron structure with two classrooms, to serve the needs of the community. Towards the end of 1936 the school applied for Government Aided status and its doors opened in February 1937.

On August 6, 1940, one additional classroom was built to accommodate 40 children. The need for more accommodation grew steadily. The roll on 

March 31, 1943 was 188 pupils. To accommodate this increasing number of pupils, a nearby black school was used as an annex. Pupils from this annexe were transferred to the main building on 18 April 1944.

The younger members of the community (the Ottawa Indian Social Club) discussed extensions to the old building and more rooms were added on. On August 1, 1948, extensions were completed and class one pupils occupied the new classroom.

In 1953 Discussions took place between the Dept of Education and the school Board with a view to establish a platoon school to ease the accommodation problem. The school times changed as a result of the opening of the private platoon school. The standards 5 and 6 pupils were transferred to Verulam Secondary School to further alleviate the accommodation problem. On January 6, 1957, a public meeting of the residents was held to discuss the problem of accommodation. Since the old school could not be further expanded a new site had to be found – a site to serve for a school as well as a sizable ground for extra-curricular activities.

The committee together with the Principal, Mr Narayadu, approached Mrs Sanjaria Jhugroo, wife of the late Mr Kissoon Jhugroo, who without hesitation

decided to donate two and half acres of land in memory of her late husband. Plans for five classrooms were completed and the estimated cost was £ 26,300. Donations received were insufficient to build so it was decided to seek out people who could offer their services free. Thus, the Ottawa Voluntary Builders Association, and gradually others, too many to mention, joined in and offered their assistance.

The project got off the ground in 1957. The work progressed until the first rooms were ready by the end of 1957. It was decided to move a few classes

from the old building to the new one. On completion of the first five classrooms, it was found that the building could not meet the needs of the school-going population, It was further decided to extend the building to the present 14 classrooms to include an office and a staffroom. It was also decided

to build a kitchen, caretaker’s quarters and to lay out a pavilion on the grounds for pupils to be seated. It took them almost five and a half years to complete the whole project. In gratitude for their services rendered, Mr MM. Naicker was given the honour of laying the foundation stone while Mr S. Badlu officially opened the school on March 24, 1962.

The voluntary workers through their selfless dedication and spirit of co-operation gave a sigh of relief when the project was completed. They knew that

the children of Ottawa would not be turned away from the school for lack of accommodation. Jhugroo Primary school is the only school in Natal which can be proud of its heritage to be completed exclusively by voluntary labour. Today the school stands as a cultural monument of outstanding community effort for the benefit of generations to come.

However, the 14 classrooms still did not satisfy the needs of the area. Three prefabricated classrooms were erected. Within a few years the platoon classes were eliminated. Today the school has 17 classrooms. The people of Ottawa can be proud of their achievements for the building is a lasting monument to all those past and present, who toiled in wind, rain and sunshine to cater for the

educational needs of the children – past, present and future. We wish the current principal and the staff complement all the best for the next

twelve years as at the end of this period they will celebrate their magnificent Centenary. As their motto suggests: By labour we progress.

*Ravi Govender is a former POST sub-editor and Lotus FM radio presenter. He is a published author, a freelance editor and film producer in training. He can be contacted at: [email protected]