From indenture to excellence: the story of Tongaat Secondary School

Join us in commemorating 80 years of Tongaat Secondary, a beacon of education in South Africa, highlighting its journey and contributions to the community.

The history of Tongaat is the history of Indian indenture in South Africa.

Tongaat is known as the cradle of Indian indenture. It was the Saunders family of the then Tongaat Sugar Estate, who mooted the idea of bringing Indians to South Africa. First generation James Renault Saunders had the experience of working with Indians in the sugar industry in Mauritius.

He was astounded by the archaic production methods and work ethic in the South African sugar industry, which induced him to motivate, at the provincial county of Victoria parliament, for bringing of Indians to South Africa to boost the sugar industry. Thereafter everything else is history.

After the first generation of Indians came to Tongaat in 1860, informal education only commenced in 1884 by the likes of Mr A Jeawan, an educationist and the Wesleyan Church. It was only in 1893 that the then Natal Education Department took charge of education in the town. However, from those formative years, only primary school education became well established and fostered initially for boys and later for girls.

The Tongaat Indian Schools Trust Board was set up in the 1900s, during the development of education in Tongaat. They were tasked in 1937 to bring secondary school education to Tongaat.

At this stage, pupils interested in obtaining a senior certificate for university entry, could only study at Sastri College in Durban, which was a costly affair for most of the poor in Tongaat, who worked in the cane fields and sugar mill. At a meeting of the trust board with the people in 1937, the people committed to contribute from their meagre wage of 2 pound ten, a shilling every month, for the establishment of a secondary school in Tongaat.

The board stepped up their efforts by collecting funds from throughout Natal in an earnest effort to establish a secondary school. 

By 1942, the trust board had collected sufficient funds to purchase the land required and appointed the contractors, Bala Bros, to commence with the construction of the school, which was at the present Victoria Primary school. The foundation stone was laid by Mr Douglas Saunders of the Tongaat Sugar Company, who committed resources to ensure the completion of the school building.

The new building was opened by Mr RA Banks, Director of Education, on May 27, 1944.

It was only on January 30, 1945, that permission was granted by the Department of Education for Secondary classes from standard 7 to commence. The log book entry, dated January 10, 1945, by the then principal Mr Simon David read: “School re-opened! School was given government status as from this date. Secondary education began here today. Work in standard 7 commenced with an enrolment of 19 boys.”

With the progressive increase in numbers in the secondary school, Tongaat High was granted permission, for the first class of 1945 to finish their matriculation examination in 1948. From its humble beginning in 1945, secondary education developed rapidly until there was no further room for expansion.

In 1958, the trust board liaised with the Tongaat Sugar Company to provide the land and to commence with a new campus, which would be able to cater for the great demand of secondary education. The present Tongaat Secondary School campus commenced in 1958 and was completed in 1960.

In 1960, secondary school classes relocated to the new campus. The log entry, dated February 1,  1960, by the then principal, Mr M Perumal, read: “The old Tongaat Indian High School moves from High Street into this new building on the Main Road. The building was erected by the Tongaat Sugar Company for the Natal Provincial Administration and the contractor was a local builder, Mr Harricharan.”

In 1960, the school had an enrolment of 558 pupils comprising 149 girls and 409 boys. The school was only the second high school for Indians, which meant that learners from as far afield as Stanger and Mandeni on the north and Verulam and Mount Edgecombe on the south attended Tongaat Secondary School. 

From those humble beginnings in 1945, Tongaat Secondary School rose to great heights of excellence from the 1980s into the new millennium. The school secured the Douglas Shield twice in 1982 and 1983 for producing the best matric results among Indian schools throughout the country. In the 1980s and 1990s, learners featured in the top 10 of the matric exams. In 1988,  Vimul Jasvantrai Valabjee, and in 1989 Vishwanth Rabichunder Lekha, topped the country in the HOD senior certificate examinations.

Among the principals at Tongaat Secondary School, Morgan Perumal was the longest serving, from 1947 to 1974. He was the principal, who put in place a vision that was nurtured over his two decades at the helm, earning himself the reputation of being one of the most revered and respected educational visionaries in the town.

Another principal of note was Mr M Rangiah, who deputised to Mr Perumal for most of his time at Tongaat High, and acted as principal for short periods of time. His contribution to the progress and development of Tongaat High in all spheres of education from maths and science to performing arts can only be described as phenomenal. His legacy at Tongaat Secondary School is iconic.

It was during the principalship of Mr KA Rama that Tongaat High came of age winning the Douglas Shield and featuring learners in the top 10 of the National Senior Certificate examination. Tongaat Secondary School also excelled in almost every sporting code, which was offered at the school from inception. The athletics rivalry between Tongaat, Stanger, Verulam and Mount Edgecombe could only be described as legendary. Those were the days when the inter-school athletics moved from town to town. It brought the entire townsfolk to the sports ground.

A key figure at Tongaat High, who took sport to another level ensuring that his charges excelled both provincially and nationally was PE master Mr Steve Gopal, who spent the better part of his teaching career at Tongaat High, before emigrating to New Zealand.

He was also known as the father of volleyball in the town of Tongaat. His excellence as a PE master saw learners at Tongaat High achieve Natal and national colours in the codes of volleyball, soccer, athletics (both track and field), gymnastics, swimming, and cross country. His own protégés, Mr Sanjay Singh, and later Mr Ashok Kassie, took over the reins as PE masters at Tongaat High and continued with the excellence initiated by Mr Gopal.

Tongaat Secondary School always boasted a band of dedicated and devoted educators whose commitment to both curricular and extra-curricular duties was second to none. Their passion and drive for teaching and learning above the normal call of duty. It was only because of the kind of attitude and mindset that the educators adopted that made Tongaat Secondary School one of the premier educational institutions on the north coast. It is hoped that this legacy will continue to inspire present and future generations of educators and learners to excel.

The motto of the school “Vestigia Nulla Retrosum" meaning "Always move forward, never look backwards" has been the guiding star of the school over the past 80 years.

* Tongaat Secondary School will commemorate its 80th anniversary with a dinner and dance on April 4 at 6pm at the Hot Shots Nightclub on Arbee Drive. The dress code is formal. There will be a buffet, entertainment and lucky draw prizes. The funds will be used to restore the school. Tickets are available at the school, Hot Shots Nightclub and Tongaat Pharmacy. For more information, call Maggie Naidoo at 084 607 0319.

Sugie Govender is the principal at Redfern Primary School, and an ex-maths educator at Tongaat Secondary where he taught for 26 years from 1990 to 2015.The high school is also his alma mater.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media. 

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