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Historia

versão On-line ISSN 2309-8392
versão impressa ISSN 0018-229X

Historia vol.58 no.1 Durban Jan. 2013

 

ARTICLES ARTIKELS

 

"... it is clear something is wrong here!" Inanda Seminary's continued survival during the 1980s

 

 

Scott Everett Couper

Development manager of Inanda Seminary, seconded by Global Ministries to the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA). Is also a honorary senior lecturer at the University of KwaZulu- Natal's School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics

 

 


ABSTRACT

During the 1980s, Inanda Seminary arguably struggled more than at any other time. Though the school escaped closure in 1957 and continued to remain a private independent Christian boarding school, Bantu Education gradually sapped the school's strength. By the 1980s, most of the school's incoming staff and students were products of apartheid's inferior education system. Internal dysfunction and external political unrest fostered institutional rot. The Seminary's missiological benefactor and Governing Council seemed overwhelmed by the forces arrayed. Varied income sources, and thus interests, from foreign missions, businesses, the state (KwaZulu homeland) and insufficient income from students weakened the school's integrity. The first black female principal, Constance Koza, abrasively led the school through much of the turbulent times. High staff turnover crippled the school. Crisis after crisis overwhelmed Koza's successor, Allan Campbell, whose tenure concluded before the decade's end. Student discipline became increasingly difficult to instil as political stability deteriorated in the local townships and throughout South Africa. Many strikes and riots at the school punctuated these years due to students and teachers' increased political awareness. Despite the apparent dysfunction inside and outside Inanda Seminary, education continued at a commendable level.

Keywords: Inanda Seminary; Bantu Education; apartheid; Constance Koza; Allan Campbell; student unrest; KwaZulu; United Congregational Church of Southern Africa; United Church Board for World Ministries


OPSOMMING

Inanda Seminarie het ongetwyfeld gedurende die tagtigerjare, meer as enige ander tyd in haar geskiedenis, moeilike tye beleef. Die skool het in die vyftigerjare daarin geslaag om sluiting vry te spring. Die seminarie het voortgegaan as 'n onafhanklike private Christen kosskool. Deur dit alles het die departement van Bantoe-Onderwys die energie van die skool getap. Teen 1980 het apartheid se ondergeskikte onderwys-sisteem meeste van die skool se personeel en studente opgelewer. In sekere opsigte het interne disfunksionaliteit en eksterne politieke onluste 'n negatiewe uitwerking op die skool gehad. Beide die breër kerk sowel as die Beheerkomitee, was oorstelp deur alles waardeur die skool moes gaan. Ad hoc befondsing, die belangstelling en invloede van oorsese instansies, besighede, die staat (KwaZulu Tuisland) en onvoldoende inkomste uit studentegelde, het die integriteit van die skool geskaad. Die eerste swart vroue-prinsipaal, Constance Koza, het die skool deur moeilike en stormagtige waters gestuur. Daar was ook herhaaldelike bedankings van personeel met nuwe aanstellings wat dan ontwrigtend was. Herhaaldelike krisisse het die naïewe Allan Campbell, wie tot aan die einde van die dekade daar gedien het, oorweldig. Die dissiplinering van studente was uiters moeilik te midde van die politieke bestel, asook die meegaande geweld in die swart woongebiede en in die breër konteks van Suid-Afrika. Daar was ook baie studente-onluste gedurende hierdie tyd, as gevolg van die studente en onderwysers se toenemende belangstelling in politiek. Ten spyte van dit alles, was 'n hoë vlak van onderrig by dié skool gehandhaaf. Die oorlewing van Inanda Seminarie bewys bo enige twyfel dat lig, hoe dof ook al, duisternis oorwin.

Sleutelwoorde: Inanda Seminary; Bantoe Onderwys; apartheid; Constance Koza; Allan Campbell; studente onrus; KwaZulu; United Congregational Church of Southern Africa; United Church Board for World Ministries


 

 

Preface

In 1869, the Reverend Daniel (1801-1880) and Lucy (1810-1877) Lindley founded Inanda Seminary (hereafter the Seminary) under the auspices of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (hereafter the American Board).1 The Seminary became the first, and is now the oldest extant, secondary boarding school for black females in southern Africa.2 Mary Edwards (1829-1927), a 40-year-old widow from Ohio, became the first woman appointed by the Women's Board of Missions and served as the school's first principal (1869-c.1892).3 At the turn of the twentieth century, the Seminary was the most prestigious all-female school in the country.4 From 1913, the school offered education up to Standard Seven; from 1926 to Junior Certificate; and from 1944 - the first school for African females to do so - to matriculation.5 The Seminary hosted the country's first state-run training programme for black nurses in the country.

The school walked a tightrope, balancing compliance with resistance throughout the colonial and apartheid periods. The removal of the government's subsidy during the late 1950s and the American Board's financial withdrawal from the 1970s, crippled the school.6 The Seminary emerged from desegregation in the late 1980s further weakened and dying as the former "whites only" and now multiracial schools removed its monopoly of elite education for black females.7 The Seminary succumbed and closed in December 1997. Like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes, Inanda Seminary re-opened under new management in January 1998. Only thereafter did the school recover its former glory becoming, once again, an extraordinary school.8

 

Introduction

The 1989 school yearbook includes a repentant essay written by Noluthando Mabuya entitled "Education at Inanda is???" The essay presents a picture of Inanda Seminary that by the late 1980s had become dysfunctional. The political and social effects of apartheid, and more specifically the National Party government's policy of Bantu Education, had indirectly taken their toll on the once proud mission school. The Standard Seven student wrote:

Many people came to Inanda to obtain the best education. Inanda Seminary is known as one of the best schools in South Africa. But now, Inanda is down - education is weak. This is not because of the staff but us students. We are always advised not to do wrong but we ignore the advice and continue with our disgusting behaviour. Nobody will care to help us if we don't behave properly.

When we lack certain things, we don't request for them in a polite and proper manner. Instead we demand them. When the staff try to help us we turn our backs on them and destroy our lives. We break the school rules and we don't want to serve our punishment. What do we really want?

Inanda has played a very important role in the past. God will guide us and help us in our troubled times. We will not have a bright future if instead of honouring adults, we fight against them.9

 

Bantu Education

Though unique and somewhat secluded from the township that surrounds it, Inanda Seminary has never been an island. Disaggregating the internal from external sources of dysfunction that plagued the school during the 1980s cannot be done cleanly. Therefore, this study understands that much of South Africa's educational dysfunction, caused in large part by Bantu Education and the political unrest caused by opposition to apartheid, engendered much of the Seminary's internal dysfunction; the two are imbricated. The Bantu Education Act, No. 47 of 1953, transferred control of education for blacks from the provinces to the central government and almost all mission schools (other than Roman Catholic) became state controlled. The American Zulu Mission retained control of only Inanda Seminary.10 Bantu Education enforced indigenous languages as mediums for instruction, tailored curriculum for specific ethnic groups, emphasised industrial skills rather than academic knowledge and in general sought to prepare blacks children for a physical and thus inferior role in shaping and influencing a white supremacist society.

Though the Seminary escaped closure in 1957, by the 1980s the pedagogical strictures imposed by Bantu Education osmositically seeped into the school as all the students and most of the staff were products of an inferior education system. In 1949, 40 percent of black secondary school teachers had university degrees; that figure dropped to 22.7 percent in 1964.11 As Leo Kuper observed in 1965, the teaching profession would be dominated by state-trained "herd girls shepherding the new generations into the Bantustan kraals".12 Bantu Education adversely affected the Seminary's finances, faculty demographics, Christian ethos and staff turnover. Political instability adversely affected the safety and security, the behaviour of the staff and students and the good order of the school.

Before the implementation of Bantu Education, Inanda Seminary recruited capable and promising students from all over the country and continent, especially from Natal's Congregational mission stations where the American Board had established dozens of primary, intermediate and secondary schools. In 1935, the American Zulu Mission (the Mission) operated 70 schools, from a high of 83, employing 176 teachers and a total enrolment of 7 161 students.13 The Mission provided primary school care that adequately prepared young girls for secondary school at the Seminary. The implementation of Bantu Education in the 1950s closed these schools.14 The newly created community or state schools discouraged English as the medium of instruction thus in the opinion of many black people, reducing "the horizons of Africans, cramping them intellectually within the narrow bounds of tribal society, and diminishing the opportunity of intercommunication between the African groups themselves and also with the wider world in general of which they formed a part".15 Thereafter, the self-generating supply of students better qualified for secondary education at the Seminary dwindled. By the 1970s, the calibre of black student and teacher coming into the secondary system decreased. Upon her arrival as principal in 1979, Constance Koza absorbed black educators and students who were inadequately prepared to receive and teach the high calibre education she demanded.

In response to Bantu Education, Constance Koza and the English Teachers' Association established in 1980 a bridging education programme involving 250 students, six local schools and thirteen teachers.16 The programme sought to:

...help to counteract the results of planners, who perhaps, unwittingly have caused great damage to the education of Africans, thus contributing to the untold bitterness it has planted in Africans through Bantu Education ... We are committed to a broad education, a caring education - hence the extension of our programmes to the neighbouring communities. We pray and hope that it can have a snowball effect and spread goodwill and a progressive outlook all around us. Like Mrs Edwards of old, we hope Inanda Seminary to be felt and to live down to Mzinyathi and beyond the river to Umngeni and to beyond and around the entire sub-continent (sic).17

Sadly, the programme died in its infancy as teachers living in town (white areas) were not willing to risk their safety by travelling to the increasingly volatile township (black area).18

 

Demographic changes

During the 1980s, the demographics of the staff dramatically changed at Inanda Seminary. Historically, the staff composed predominately of white

American female expatriates and black female amaKholwa alumnae. This demographic combination created a cohesive staff with shared values, albeit often 'maternalistic'. Black and white women shared common purpose in educating black girls. As men were increasingly introduced as staff, a sense of gendered solidarity decreased and dynamics became more divisive. According to the 1980/1 yearbook, there were six male staff members; by 1989 there were twelve, double. By the 1980s, 30 years of Bantu Education evaporated the pool of qualified black female applicants to teach at the Seminary and fewer missionary teachers were sent from the United States due to visa complications.19

Because South African whites were less likely to work in an urban township in the midst of an era of apartheid unrest, fewer white (and almost by default Christian) teachers were willing to teach at Inanda Seminary. As a result of these changes, the Seminary attracted more Indian and coloured educators. The increased number of Indian and coloured teachers altered the ethos and dynamics of the school. The 1980/1 yearbook notes that there was only one Indian teacher, Rajen Sing (Mathematics), just over five percent of the faculty. In 1989, there were at least eight Indian staff members, almost a quarter of the faculty.20 In a 2011 interview, the principal, Allan Campbell, mentioned that he had the most difficulty with Indian staff. Campbell recalled Abbey Naidoo (Biology) and Ajay Bramdeo (Accountancy) were sarcastic, undisciplined and insubordinate.21

 

KwaZulu government subsidy

After Inanda Seminary accepted KwaZulu government subsidies to pay educators during the 1980s, the staff increasingly began to perceive the school as a public institution under the government's jurisdiction. Because the state paid a subsidy designated for teacher salaries, faculty felt less accountable to the principal. Educators grew more aggressive and defiant as the Seminary struggled to maintain constantly increasing state remuneration and benefits. With the public sector available and paying more, staff exerted leverage over the principal. The altered dynamics emboldened staff to challenge the school's leadership, especially when Allan Campbell was principal. For example, Jean Powis (Mathematics) wrote to the Governing Council (hereafter the Council) on 16 February 1989 declaring 20 matters the staff wished resolved. The tone of the correspondence suggests that the staff believed they had as much influence over the administration of the school as the Council. The understanding of the Seminary as a public school increasingly threatened the survival of the school in the 1990s when a teachers' union and the Board of Governors contested each other's authority over the school in court.

 

Christian ethos

The changed perception of the school from a private Christian mission to a public school encouraged Indians and Hindus to apply for teaching positions thus altering the school's demographics and ethos. The changing demographics of Inanda Seminary altered the degree to which the school prioritised Christian "mission" as a higher percentage of Indians and coloureds were not Christian as compared with whites and blacks who almost exclusively composed the school's faculty in earlier decades. During the 1980s, the Seminary's Christian ethos began to erode. The school had long been without a chaplain despite requests to the United Church Board for World Ministries (UCBWM) for many years to appoint a missionary for that role.22 Constance Koza experienced hostility from staff and students when she tried to revive the spiritual foundation of the school following her predecessor's (Maurice Lewis) firing. Likewise, her successor (Allan Campbell) received complaints for hiring Ann Hewer to teach Religious Education. During the highly charged and politicised time, the non-Christian staff members perceived the Seminary's advertising for Christian teachers as "an act of discrimination".23 For some time, the Governing Council also lamented the de-Christianisation of the school and so sought to buttress Campbell as he was assailed by some members of staff. Therefore, in the midst of a March 1989 school crisis, the Council issued a reminder to all concerned that the Seminary was a private, independent and Christian school:

The Congregational Church and the Council reaffirm the Christian character of Inanda Seminary. It was founded by Christian missionaries and still continues to be supported in part by donations from the United Church Board for World [Ministries] in New York. Council is therefore entirely in agreement with the Principal's recent advertisement for "Christian teachers". This principle in no way threatens any non-Christian teachers presently on the staff or for that matter by any non-Christian students. However, pupils who feel uncomfortable with this unashamedly Christian stance should make urgent arrangements to continue their schooling elsewhere.24

After Campbell's departure in 1989, the acting principal, Lucky Zulu, pleaded to the wider church for greater support to be given to the school as "there [was] a dire need of spiritual upliftment" (sic).25

 

Staff turnover

Eight staff members departed at the close of 1979 or beginning of 1980 during Constance Koza's first few months as Inanda Seminary's principal.26

In 1980, the picture did not improve; eleven of 35, or over 31 percent, of the staff departed for various reasons.27 Eleven of 31, or 36 percent, left in 1981, most of whom were fired or resigned.28 In 1982, nine of 30, 30 percent of the staff would depart.29 In 1983, nine of 40 (23 percent) left the school's employ. In 1984, sixteen of 41 members of staff left, 39 percent. Between the years 1984 and 1985, eight faculty members were removed and replaced.30 Approximately 87 percent of staff hired in the 1980s left before the decade's conclusion. Two factors engendered the Seminary's high staff turnover during the 1980s.The first, and by far most significant, reason is that the Seminary struggled, and failed more times than not during this time, to match state salaries and benefits for teachers.

Meghan Healy-Clancy in her in-depth study of women's education in South Africa explains how the apartheid regime intentionally targeted female educators and nurses (feminised professions) to further a segregated state.31 Not only were teachers (female in particular) mass produced, they were given by the mid-1980s, relatively speaking, rapid salary increases.32 Hence, Seminary staff was prone to leave for the public sector, often without any notice. Since 1957, Bantu Education removed Inanda Seminary's government subsidy and prevented the school from charging tuition fees.33 This left the Seminary with only one of three primary sources of income (and the one, UCBWM funds, was also declining due to missiological "decolonisation"). Since the late 1950s, the Seminary chronically struggled to balance a budget despite not providing its staff with fundamental benefits such as medical aid and pension as could the state schools. The devastating financial impact of Bantu Education cannot be sufficiently emphasised as the tentacles of 1957 gripped almost 30 years later. In a report to the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA), under whose auspices the Seminary fell since the UCCSA's founding in 1967, Constance Koza lamented:

... it is to be noted that a big problem looms before Inanda Seminary as the Government has given substantial increases to its teachers. They also provide medical aid, housing loans etc, which we do not. Many teachers feel cheated being at Inanda Seminary and once again they will return to the red tape of Government service rather than suffer the meagre remunerations that Inanda offers. Whilst they go away, anxiety sets in as to whether they can be substituted under our present conditions. Whilst we struggle to maintain equality in salaries, which change so rapidly, it is beyond comprehension that we can offer equality with the amenities offered by the state.34

Some staff members served the school out of a sense of self- sacrificial benevolence laced with an opposition to apartheid (Paddy Kearney, Carroll Jacobs and Patricia Seery). Nonetheless, many more educators who taught at the Seminary during the 1980s were unemployable elsewhere due to a lack of qualifications. Some sought to avoid teaching in the townships' public schools.35 Given the opportunity, teachers often departed as quickly as they came.36 This conundrum hung like a "hangman's noose" over the principals and emboldened the teachers to resist authority.

The second, and less significant but nonetheless substantive reason for high staff turnover were the poor relations between the staff and the principals during the 1980s. From staff files, it is often difficult to discern to what degree resignations were the direct result of conflicts, let alone which parties were at fault. Seemingly amicable resignations in the pursuit of alternative employment may or may not be a sign of stress within Inanda Seminary. Nonetheless, archival evidence reveals much contestation between the principals and staff.37

 

Political context

External pressures in the townships surrounding Inanda Seminary complemented the internal turmoil. By April 1980, the national campaign of students against crowding in schools, lack of equipment and books and lack of students' representation had spread to KwaMashu, a sprawling black residential area north of Durban. Boycotting pupils in KwaMashu defied Chief Buthelezi's calls to return to school, resulting in violent clashes between pupils and Inkatha supporters. As many as 36 schools were affected by the school boycotts of 1980 and 1981.38

Student protests and boycotts since the Soweto uprising of 1976 were manifestations of the black majority's objection to apartheid and poor quality Bantu Education. Tshepo Moloi concurs and points out that "black student politics at secondary school, high school and tertiary level arose because of poor conditions in schools and institutions of higher learning".39 Gail Gerhart and Clive Glaser note that "nationally, 77 African secondary schools were closed during the 1990s".40 After months of disturbances, in May 1980 students in KwaMashu pressured the Seminary to suspend educating. No longer was the school an oasis of tranquillity. The Seminary, though private, reeled from the political and educational crisis in South Africa; it closed early on 25 May 1980 with the apparent agreement of the students, thus postponing the half-year exams. The spirit of defiance spread among the girls while they were at their respective homes. Political student organisations were prohibited on campus at the Seminary, yet nothing could prevent politics from inciting the students while at home.

The political context also contributed to the inter-staff conflict and took the form of overt insubordination against the principal. One of the many onerous conditions under which the Inanda Seminary operated within Bantu Education post-1958 was that:

no student will be encouraged or influenced in any direct or indirect manner to disobey or disregard any Statutory Act or section of any such Statutory Act or regulations published thereunder thus fostering disobedience to the laws of the State.41

This restriction often pitted more radical teachers, such as Jabulani Sithole and Patricia Seery in outspoken conflict with the principal. Ajay Bramdeo (Accountancy) showed "Cry Freedom", a film banned by the South African government to students and teachers at the Seminary, engendering much angst in Allan Campbell. Many educators such as Carohn Cornell (English), David Brown (English) and Karen Roy (Mathematics) had positive relations with principals. Nonetheless, their outspoken political views often placed the Seminary in a precarious position with the state.

 

A decisive and cantankerous principal (1980-October 1986)

In August 1979, Constance Koza became Inanda Seminary's first black female principal (1979-1986). Having previously served the South African Council of Churches as director of Inter Church Aid from 1973-1979, Koza exhibited a professional, sophisticated and cosmopolitan demeanour to students, staff and potential donors.42 She utilised her extensive network of ecumenical Christian charities to tap into alternative means of supporting the school as boarding fees and donations from the USA were woefully insufficient. In the 1980s, such striking confidence in a black female was more than a novelty, it was radical. Koza's deportment impressed; it communicated confidence. One student recalled, "...I think, to this day, I am struggling to find a lady who dresses better than Mah Koza. Eish, smart, eh? And her heels, hey? This high".43 The importance of style and professionalism in dress and attitude led her to be a target of those who accused her of being "high maintenance", exorbitant, free-spending and even financially corrupt.44 However, for just as many she represented the prototype ideal black woman thus eliciting respect and loyalty.

In person and in the archive, Constance Koza is self-assured and proud.45 Such adjectives often have pejorative connotations (particularly and unfairly for females).Yet, these traits allowed Koza to keep chaos at bay. The many characteristics that enabled her to survive caused almost as many problems as they solved. Her prose is often emotive - to the extent that even valid arguments posed become suspect. One student recalled, "She was a performer, yes".46 Koza could be caustic and was prone to embarrass, if not publicly humiliate, those who she deemed to be acting against her wishes. Yet, it must be acknowledged that her abrasive nature provided her with a sufficiently "thick skin" to tolerate many trials and tribulations. Her obstinacy allowed her to judge without fear - to judge men, whites and government officials.

Staff turnover at the beginning of Constance Koza's tenure was alarming. In the early months of 1980, Koza dealt decisively with an exodus by industriously restoring the full complement of teaching staff. Whether old, white, male, lazy or simply ineffective, Koza advocated for their departure by decree, to such an extent that the Governing Council once decided that she could no longer dismiss employees without its approval.47 In her view the school's survival required draconian perspectives and decisive corrective measures. After the departure of Maurice Lewis, Koza understood the school required discipline, and she would implement it no matter the trauma it caused.

Constance Koza understood how difficult it was to be a successful black female in apartheid South Africa. She advised her students that young black girls had to be above reproach to succeed in a society that did not privilege youth, blacks or females. Too many disadvantages placed a stranglehold on black female progression so Inanda Seminary girls should not under any circumstance contribute to them with their behaviour. Koza was a disciplinarian. Unchaperoned relations with males, and therefore pregnancies, were to be avoided at all costs by the girls, as both were ruinous.48 As did her predecessors, Koza prohibited school politics because she argued that it drew unnecessary governmental attention and ultimately excluded the girls from obtaining higher education.49

Due to the pervasive patriarchy and racism present in apartheid South Africa during the 1980s, Constance Koza encountered deep resentment and much passive-aggressive behaviour from male and white staff members who could not work under such a confident and decisive black female principal. She accused staff of treating her "disdainfully, perhaps because I am black and female".50 Her perspective is supported by a 1980 Commission of Inquiry that reported that "white men in particular are not entirely happy about working under and taking orders from a black lady Principal".51 To lead a multiracial staff within apartheid South Africa, a black female had to have self-confidence in abundance. This quality enabled Koza to look past the numerous obstacles arrayed against her in a racist and patriarchal society.

Racism and misogyny fail to explain why Constance Koza encountered so much difficulty with the students as well, unless it can be asserted that the staff instigated students to revolt against unpopular principals (as is the case at Inanda Seminary and many other South African boarding schools). Regarding the riots surrounding the sacking of Maurice Lewis, the Seminary's only coloured principal (1977-1979), the Reverend K.M. Smith once surmised:

...I was told over twenty years ago by an African teacher that if there is trouble in a school, one will always find an adult (usually a member of staff) at the bottom of it. In the various cases of a student unrest with which I have been concerned, I have invariably found this to be true, and I see no reason why it should not be true of the present situation at Inanda.52

Constance Koza inherited a dysfunctional school in August 1979 after the Governing Council had fired Maurice Lewis.53 Lewis was the first leader of Inanda Seminary who served neither as an appointment of the Congregational Church or from within the school as a teacher. Lewis, affectionately referred to by the students as 'Daddy Lewis', exhibited a lackadaisical style, at least with the students.54 According to teachers, Lewis acted unilaterally without their consent and in an "authoritarian rather than cooperative" manner".55 Carroll Jacobs, Koza's administrative secretary, recalled that under Lewis' leadership, the girls were "out of control" with pregnancy and drinking on the increase.56 Parents were outraged by the Seminary's lack of discipline. His style did not agree with the Seminary's historically conservative amaKholwa (believers) culture.

After a staff insurrection against Maurice Lewis, the termination of his employment by the Governing Council and a subsequent student riot to protect his position, the Council hired Constance Koza, herself an "old girl" (1941-1945), whom Lavinia Scott (1907-1997), principal from 1939 to 1968, solicited, recruited and supported as a means of bringing Inanda Seminary back to a sense of normalcy.57 After experiencing students' defiance in 1980, Koza reflected on the situation that she inherited from Lewis:

This was an institution with troubles when I arrived ... Students had no inhibitions, they were as free as nature. They could go to chapel, class or dining room at will. If for any reason they did not feel like it, they stayed, there was no form of punishment of any consequence. . They were certainly like sheep without a shepherd. The spiritual life was nil - no church choir or [Student Christian Movement] existed. In fact, students read novels during the twenty minutes of devotion. Staff members had no obligation at all to attend chapel and many did not attend.58

Despite pervasive dysfunction within Inanda Seminary, it received a 100 percent pass rate in 1979. Three Inanda girls came in the top ten in the Natal African section and the school as a whole came in first.59 The school also performed very well in the Science Olympiad. One student, Thuthula Balfour, earned a bursary to attend the National Youth Science Week and the International Youth Science fortnight in London. Achieving excellent results despite suffering internal disruption is a recurring motif throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Constance Koza's tenure as principal began only from the last term of 1979. By January 1980, any customary "honeymoon" period following her hiring had evaporated. Four days previous to Inanda Seminary's opening on 22 January 1980, Koza exclaimed to the Governing Council "...it is clear something is wrong here" and desired to inform the Council of "everything in good time before eruptions [occurred] at the school".60 Koza's prescience proved accurate. Her blistering report determined that staff at the Seminary disrupted any potential of a "spirit of harmony".61

The leadership style change from Maurice Lewis to Constance Koza proved drastic. Lewis fostered students' autonomy; Koza brought back "old school" discipline and values.62 Lewis conveyed secularism; Koza enforced "old time" religion. For Lewis, the Seminary culture was foreign, whereas Koza understood the church and mission (particularly the American Board).

In late 1980, students drafted a "charter" that itemised numerous complaints against Constance Koza, presumably for the eyes of the Governing Council. The students most likely based the title of their document on the 1955 Freedom Charter that itemised national grievances. In fact, the African National Congress (ANC) proclaimed 1980 as 'The Year of the Charter'. The document approves of the past principal, Maurice Lewis, and concludes by declaring that Koza's resignation was the "only solution to the problem[s]".63 Foremost amongst the laments is concern over staff departures, particularly the missionary Carol Garn (Mathematics and Guidance counsellor) who the students rightly understood, would not to return during Koza's tenure.64 The charter enumerates many complaints against Koza for financial mismanagement, favouritism and harsh and embarrassing discipline meted out to students and staff. There are suggestions within the text that faculty members involved themselves in its composition.

Constance Koza responded twice to the accusations, the first retort written in August 1980. In the second response, written in December 1980 and directed to the Council's Commission of Enquiry, Koza addressed each of the staff's complaints in turn.65 Koza attempted to respond in a dispassionate and professional manner, yet pain and defensive sarcasm surfaced.66

On 4 July 1980, prefects met with Constance Koza arguing that the Form Vs should not write their mid-term examinations, citing that due to the school's premature term break they were unprepared.67 When school resumed on 7 July 1980, all Inanda Seminary students (except those at the Secretarial School) refused to write examinations.68 Students then "occupied" the tennis courts. Three days of crisis followed, during which Koza refused to be dictated to by the students. A decision by the Governing Council on 8 July 1980 to delay the examinations until after the "at home" celebration motivated Koza to relent.69

In cases of school unrest, Constance Koza understood that staff instigated the students. Koza's poor relationships with the students and staff combined with the catalyst of political dissent in the townships made for a cocktail of dysfunction that permeated the Seminary throughout the decade. In early 1980, prolonged school boycotts continued in some areas for more than a year. Within the context of school boycotts, the ANC was able to take advantage of the mobilising forces of Congress of South African Students, buttressed by the many unresolved grievances of black pupils and the volatile conditions which had persisted in many township schools since the Soweto revolt.70

Recalling the incident narrated above, Koza explained:

When we opened during the first week, [the students] were different. They would not write exams. The Form Vs led the sabotage. Teachers were consulted - we began to see polarisation of the staff. Those who condoned every student action were either currying favour or party to the plan. We finally gave in.71

The spirit of unrest and turmoil affecting Inanda Seminary persisted throughout the year, moving from one demand to the next. Constance Koza repeatedly highlighted that staff at the Seminary frequently split into separate cliques and usurped the principal's authority at will. Koza cited Lavinia Scott's "premature" departure; Edith Hendrickse's (school counsellor) case against Roger Aylard (1969-1973); and the staff's insurrection against former principal Maurice Lewis as examples that "there is an established practice of the staff plotting against the Principals of this school".72 As the Seminary archive seems to substantiate, students were "used as an army by teachers" to create unrest.73

Constance Koza reported to the Governing Council in November 1980 that the term "was full of riots which culminated in the attempted murder of the Principal and the matron, [Agnes] Cele".74 The crisis began when four Form IV students dumped samp into a ditch.75 These four students were suspended and ultimately expelled. Then eighteen other Form IV students plotted to retaliate by giving Koza and Cele a "thrash" with bricks and iron bars. This would not be the first time the Koza's life was threatened. Earlier in 1980, in reaction to retrenching Mabel Christofersen, someone threatened to torch Koza's cottage.76 To the Council, Koza cited two cases where a teacher was attacked and killed at St Augustine and a principal was killed in the Eastern Cape.77 Koza's determination to run the school did carry some threat to her safety. The Council's chairperson, the Reverend Bekizipho Dludla, at Koza's recommendation, suspended all 84 of the Form IV students. Of those 84, eighteen who were identified to be at the "vanguard of the plot" and the original four were expelled.78 The school readmitted the 62 suspended students following an expression of transparency and regret. In January 1981, the Council decided to rescind an earlier decision not to re-admit the 22 expelled students in the 1981 intake.79 The multiple rescissions caused Koza to believe that the Council did not uphold her authority.

On 8 July 1980, the Governing Council held an extraordinary meeting dealing with the crisis that led to the principal tendering her resignation for the first, but not the last, time.80 The Council refused to accept her resignation. In August 1980, the Council agreed that a professional assessment of staff relations with the principal be conducted.81 In September 1980, the Council scheduled an inquiry to be conducted in association with representatives of the UCCSA.82 The commission of inquiry sought interviews and statements from the staff and principal in mid- November 1980.83 The Reverend Joseph Wing, general secretary of the UCCSA, and Prof L.C. Nyembezi of the Seminary's Council drafted a substantive seven-page report in December 1980.84

The commission of inquiry assessed the "crisis" situation at Inanda Seminary and determined that there were two evenly polarised camps, one supporting (fifteen) and one orchestrating vociferous opposition to the principal (eighteen). The commission found that staff unfortunately and unprofessionally placed students in the middle. Complaints against the principal included: inconsistent application of discipline; unprofessional conduct; impulsive and dramatic behaviour; capricious action in terminating employment and expelling students; and advocating an undue emphasis on a particular spirituality. Supporters acknowledged Constance Koza's faults. Nonetheless, they and the Governing Council gave Koza the benefit of the doubt when considering her passion for the wellbeing of the school. Supporters of Koza's leadership acknowledged that though she possessed a dynamic and forceful personality, she was warm, motherly, approachable, understanding, committed to her faith and sensitive. The commission balanced confidence and authority in the principal while broadening and clarifying the authority structure of the school, therefore curbing Koza's more reactionary tendencies. The commission proposed to constitute means by which to facilitate better communication between staff and the principal; between the school and the parents; and between the staff and the Council. Finally, efforts would be made to solicit the UCBWM to appoint a chaplain to assist the school "adhere to broad Christian principles as the basis for running it".85 The principal capitulated by accepting the commission and Council's decisions and re-admitted the students who instigated the July 1980 strike.

Constance Koza's problems did not cease. In August 1981, students embarked on an uprising due to anonymous letters concerning the deputy principal, Jacob Moreki (Mathematics). On 17 August 1981, students held a mass sit-in and on 18 August 1981 they staged a mass walk-out. As usual, the Reverends Gideon Shandu and Bekizipho Dludla were called upon to pacify the students.86 The Governing Council fired Moreki and requested that he and his family "leave Inanda Seminary forthwith, for the safety of the school and, yourself and [the principal]".87 The accusations against Moreki were of a political nature as the matriculation students believed him to be a state informant.88 Also in August 1981, Angeline Finger (Physical Education and Afrikaans) was fired after accusing Koza of, among other things, witchcraft.89

Despite the turmoil, Constance Koza remained upbeat. Reflecting on the year that contained much drama, she reported to the wider church in southern Africa:

Inanda was born to shine[,] the light is lit, the strong breeze flickers it almost to death, but it is never out[. A] little moment [later,] it shines again. God has to help us, to strengthen the [wick] of our lamp and render our oil with strong inflammability and the light will grow stronger and stronger to God's own radiance - only if you keep supporting us in prayer.90

Koza did not limit herself to a defensive posture, only pushing back the waves of chaos.91 She was also offensively productive, initiating many improvements to the school. Koza excelled in fundraising, infrastructural development, teaching and outreach.

Deploring what she perceived to be a lack of spirituality in the school following Maurice Lewis' departure, Constance Koza formed the Students' Christian Movement in 1980. The organisation brought many speakers to campus to preach, organised Christian youth outings to rallies and Christian leadership training sessions. This movement, rather than uniting the school, initially seems to have caused further divisions as some saw the initiative as sectarian. Koza understood her revival of the spiritual life at Inanda Seminary to be her greatest achievement. In November 1982, Koza beamed, "Many of my dreams and visions have materialised. The greatest of all things being the blossoming of the spiritual life on campus".92

Constance Koza showed great fortitude in confronting the government about examination results. Despite Inanda Seminary's independent status, it was still beholden to the government education system. Some evidence suggests that the government, in an effort to frustrate the school, withheld results and manipulated examination results. Koza reported the late arrival of results and missing 1979 isiZulu paper for matriculation students; and the missing English marks for the Junior Certificate students.93 Koza reported to the Governing Council that there were delays and "discrepancies" in the 1980 results. The Grade Eight Mathematics results were missing. Koza travelled to Pretoria contesting the 1980 results, and thereby helped to obtain twelve exemptions for the students (though six remained school leaving certificates), resulting in a 100 percent pass rate and a 91 percent exemption rate.94 Well into 1982, the Secretarial School results had not been received causing much consternation.95

Constance Koza also contested the 1981 exam results. In February 1982, she travelled with the teachers' mandate to the Department of Education and Training's offices in Pretoria to confront officials. She argued that "a school which had consistently achieved 100 [percent] passes each year could not suddenly receive [17 percent] passes".96 The first official referred Koza to the director, who proved equally unhelpful; both simply pleaded that they were not the testing authority and only offered unrealistic deadlines for all of the matriculation students to be re-examined. Koza pleaded to the government representatives not to "place Inanda Seminary in the centre of a political arena".97 She argued that "the school had been founded on and existed by prayer and that God would not allow anyone to destroy it by any means for whatever reason".98

Constance Koza and the teachers may have reacted too quickly in blaming the government for the poor results. Koza revealed the following in 1983:

It should now be outlined that the Matric class of 1981 consisted of the most unfortunate children, who fell prey to the disturbances of 1979 and 1980.They carried a stigma within themselves, which they blamed on everyone else. Eventually, they were persuaded to buy stolen examination question papers and had to bear the brunt of their actions, by having to rewrite their examinations.99

Despite re-writing, the 1981 results were dismal, relatively speaking, still the lowest in the school's history (64 percent pass and 18 percent exemption).

Constance Koza, with the support of the teachers, decided to change tactics. In her frustration with government exams (be they vulnerable to premature release to students) and results (be they late or manipulated), Koza boldly (and even against the wishes of the Governing Council) attempted to abandon the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exam and adopted the (perceived) more difficult Joint Matriculation Board (JMB) exam.100 Immediately after visiting the Department of Education and Training in February 1982, Koza met with the chairperson of the JMB who expressed support for the idea and accommodated the 1982 matriculation students to take the exam at the end of the year. Due to student, parent and Council's fear of the JMB exam, for five years (1982-1986) students were permitted to choose which exam they would take. Results were mixed.

There did not seem to a clear statistical difference, but Koza inaccurately recalled in 2009 that with the switch to the JMB "I had 100 [percent] matric passes".101 Many of the exams were taken under very trying circumstances. For example, due to unrest in the country, the 1985 exams were administered prematurely on 16 October 1985. On 30 October 1985, the school closed and sent the students home.102

Two teachers, Jabulani Sithole (Mathematics) and Patricia Seery (English), advocated strongly that the school switch from the NSC to the JMB.103 Despite Constance Koza's proactive and confrontational approach with the government officials and her subsequent march to the JMB offices in February 1982, Sithole and Seery criticised Koza upon her return for being a "conformist".104 They wished that Koza had berated and thus embarrassed the government officials with a small legion of concerned parents (whose presence outside the meeting's doors Seery and Sithole likely organised, without Koza's knowledge). Upon Koza's return, the special branch of the government's security forces visited the school and questioned her about the trip to Pretoria. The special branch was concerned about members of Inanda Seminary's staff, particularly Sithole, whose employment at the Seminary and his most recent arrest were broadcast on the radio.

In her defence, Constance Koza lashed out at Jabulani Sithole and Patricia Seery the following day in an emergency administrative meeting. Koza accused Sithole and Seery of politically agitating students when the school was "already in a very precarious situation in terms of its existence and future".105 After Sithole claimed the school allowed in its Staff Code of Conduct to "spread political awareness among students", Sithole left the meeting.106 Seery argued that as Inanda Seminary was a Christian school and the wider church was at the forefront of condemning the recent killing of Neil Aggett, therefore the Seminary should also be at the forefront of social justice issues.107 Seery was asked to leave the meeting. A month later, Seery was "caught" hanging posters in her classroom that called for the release of political detainees. Koza found Seery to be insubordinate because Koza had previously mandated that the school not be used as a political platform. Both Sithole and Seery were fired in March 1982 due to persistent insubordination with regard to the prohibition of political agitation on school grounds.108

Constance Koza's ability to raise funds was her primary contribution to Inanda Seminary. During a period of great financial difficulty, Koza enabled the school to remain solvent.109 She oversaw a construction boom, rivalling previous ones at the end of World War One and in the late 1960s, with the building of two new dormitories in 1981 and 1983.110 These dormitories are perhaps her most enduring legacy as they enabled historic buildings to be used for administration and classrooms rather than student housing (for example, Edwards Hall and Lucy Lindley) and allowed the school to comfortably increase enrolment and therefore income from students.111

Constance Koza undertook three overseas fundraising trips in 1979, 1983 and 1986. In 1979 she applied for funds in Germany (Bread for the World); Denmark (Church Aid); Sweden and the USA (Mennonites, Lutherans and Presbyterians) and Switzerland (World Council of Churches and HEKS). After her first trip, she reported that by May 1980, she had applied for more than R1 585 500.112 In the four year period from June 1979 to July 1983, she raised R892 371.113 From 6 September to 13 October 1983, Koza travelled to Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Norway, Canada, and the USA (including New York, Washington, D.C., Indianapolis, Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles and San Francisco) to raise funds.114 Evangelical Mission Work of Germany (EMW) contributed R 210 000 over three years.115 Koza accepted the opportunity to travel to Hawaii on a fundraising trip from 12 June to 12 July 1986. The trip was sponsored by the Congregational Church Women of Hawaii.116 The objective of the trip was to raise funds for the school's Endowment Fund. On her way to Hawaii, Koza travelled the length of the North American continent attending meetings and advocating for financial contributions.

Constance Koza also sought funds from within South Africa. She and the Governing Council pursued funds from the KwaZulu government (based at Ulundi). From 1984, KwaZulu's Department of Education and Culture provided R30 000 per annum for five years to Inanda Seminary as a grant- in-aid.117 The Council worried that the government grant would threaten the school's sovereignty and in May 1987, the Council discussed its reluctance to sacrifice the school's autonomy if it fell completely within KwaZulu's ambit. By August 1987, the school accepted a continuance of theKwaZulu grant following the visit of a delegation to the Secretary of Education and Culture, Oscar Dhlomo, in Ulundi.118 In March 1988, the UCCSA forwarded a correspondence from the UCBWM to the Council that expressed the American church's deep concern over the Seminary's acceptance of a grant from KwaZulu.119 The UCBWM and the UCCSA sympathised with domestic movements aligned with the exiled African National Congress (ANC) and took great exception to the school being under the purview of Mangosuthu Buthelezi's Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). By May 1988, after explanations provided in face-to-face discussions with the UCCSA, the UCBWM seemed placated.120

Inanda Seminary also applied to the national government (Pretoria) for a subsidy despite being a private school.121 The Council supported this initiative as the Association for Private Schools did not cater for (subsidised) schools for blacks.122 The Roman Catholic Church through Archbishop Denis Hurley and Anglo Gold also contributed to the school's financial survival. Furthermore, the Seminary received a grant of over R17 000 for the purchase of a school vehicle from the USA consul-general.123

The year 1986 brought much of the turmoil of the outside world into the gates of Inanda Seminary. By the mid-1980s, South Africa was in flames, with violent resistance and escalating insurgence from all borders, including those within the country. Rural uprisings in the desiccated countryside of South Africa's "Bantustan" homelands were met by violent demonstrations within the sprawls of South Africa's peri-urban townships.124

The apartheid regime imposed a state of emergency on 20 July 1985 in the Eastern Cape and Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vaal area and a few months later this was extended to the Western Cape. In the past, the Seminary would often remain unmolested by the contestation in South Africa. For example, the 1976 Soweto school riots only belatedly and mildly affected the Seminary. In contrast, the political turmoil in the country immediately impacted upon the school in 1986. In January 1986, the Seminary still did not have access to the syllabi to be used during the year. Constance Koza reported:

The beginning of the year was a very strenuous experience. There was controversy as to whether the schools would open or not. We approached the opening day with tremendous doubts, but God, as usual, surprised us ... we are constantly on tenterhooks ...The spirit of turmoil around does not escape us completely, but we have to curb it at all times. There is a general feeling that we ignore the relevant struggle. Children must be constantly criticised when they go out, so it is our responsibility to counsel them constantly.125

Telephone calls came to the school at the beginning of the year, threatening the imminent arrival of buses packed with protestors seeking to force the Seminary to close. Koza increased the security detachment in order to prepare for any demonstrators who sought to disrupt the school's operations.126 At the beginning of the 1986 school year, some students withdrew from the Seminary after receiving threats not to attend.127 One student withdrew after the Congress of South African Students (COSAS) warned her that if she returned she would be burnt.128 Students were threatened to not pay school or book fees.129

In addition to disruptions caused by the political situation, Constance Koza increasingly experienced difficulties with Leonard McNally who had been the registrar since October 1982. The conflict between the two focused on jurisdiction of responsibilities, from decisions regarding loans to staff; to delegating the school driver for tasks; to permission for staff leave. The Governing Council convened a special of meeting to resolve the dispute in January 1986.

Following Constance Koza's return from Hawaii in July 1986, the situation seemed calm in August and September. It imploded in October 1986. The principal's abrasive attitude, her ability to attract controversy and her penchant to address matters impulsively, substantively increased her stress levels and thus weakened her health. The tense political situation also contributed to Koza's physical fragility. She often administered the school from the bed in her school cottage, or took medical leave, thus often leaving the school in the hands of Lucky Zulu, the deputy principal, also an "old girl" (1969-1970). Koza tendered her resignation shortly before the Governing Council held emergency meetings on 23 and 24 October 1986.130 The Council accepted her resignation.131 The official reason for the resignation was her "retirement".132

 

The interregnum (October 1986-1987)

The Governing Council appointed the Afrikaans teacher, Hendrika Badenhorst, as the acting principal; Lucky Zulu, who was previously the deputy principal under Koza, was reaffirmed as deputy principal. Staff members claimed that Badenhorst had "undue association with the police" and held no academic teaching qualifications.133 The Council gave Gideon Shandu the difficult task of announcing the appointment of Badenhorst as principal to the staff. During this consultation, the staff was reportedly "unruly and difficult to control".134 Following Shandu's announcement, students and teachers held informal meetings. Later in the day, Badenhorst and the nursing sister, Gloria Sosibo, addressed the students. However,

... their efforts were drowned out by deliberate feet stamping, shouting, and very aggressive behaviour ... Miss Badenhorst and Miss Munro were barricaded in the Principal's office, and being subjected to a shower of rocks and abuse. One of the rear tyres of their light delivery vehicle had been slashed and let down.135

The school driver and local headman, Russell Ndlovu, smuggled Badenhorst and Belinda Munro's (Social Studies) vehicles off campus to prevent further damage. The teachers themselves went into hiding in Durban. Shandu reversed the earlier decision for Badenhorst to serve as acting principal and instead named her as deputy principal. Shandu's appointment of Zulu as acting principal calmed the situation. The Council later ratified Shandu's decisions. Maliga Stanley (Afrikaans), Munro and Badenhorst left the employ of the Seminary that year due to the threats and unrest.

The Council's unwise decision to appoint Badenhorst (who had previously taught Afrikaans in apartheid South Africa in a black township and was a suspected informant) at a school for black girls who were already on "tenterhooks" during a state of emergency, rather than Lucky Zulu, the black deputy principal, was destined to have grave consequences. Perhaps the Council realised its gross error when soon afterwards the chairperson, Prof W.E. Phillips, resigned with immediate effect due to "ill health on the advice of his doctor".136

Lucky Zulu also struggled with the ill-discipline of militant students. She lamented:

... there was still a problem with maintaining proper discipline with the students. Problem areas were uniform which was due to lack of co-operation on the part of the parents, disrespectfulness and [rowdiness] which could be attributed to the present climate in the locations and other schools and poor guidance as far as discipline is concerned.137

Zulu complained to the Governing Council that the tyres of her c ar had been punctured; Pam Robertson (Mathematics and Physical Science) and Ronald Mfeka (isiZulu and History) were also targeted in this way. Robertson and Mfeka soon left the school.138 Student's possessed agency; they were not simply manipulated by more politicised Seminary teachers such as Jabulani Sithole and Patricia Seery. The communities in which the students' families lived and socialised also conscientised them and made them less amenable to be controlled. Zulu found the beginning of the academic terms were always the most difficult as "the school is burdened with having to start from the beginning each time after vacation to get the children back into acceptable behaviour".139

The Governing Council recommended in November 1986 that the next principal be aZulu; in May 1987 it further recommended that the principal be a woman. Locating and appointing an experienced qualified black female iKholwa (Christian believer) capable and willing to head a school in a South African township during the mid-1980s was difficult and protracted. Suitable applicants were very few and far between after 30 years of Bantu Education.140

The 1987 year began with an enrolment of 521, possibly the largest ever due in part to the deteriorating state of public education.141 While Lucky Zulu served as the acting principal, the Governing Council recommended hiring a professional to locate a suitable principal. By August 1987, the Council decided upon Pumla Madikiza from the Eastern Cape. However, the appointment suffered an immediate setback. The general secretary of the UCCSA, the Reverend Joseph Wing, alerted the Council that Madikiza's husband, an ordained minister in the Methodist church, had not been transferred to Natal, let alone to the Inanda area. This scuttled the prospective appointment as without a transfer, neither the Methodist nor the UCCSA denomination would approve a situation where husband and wife were separated.142 By November 1987, the appointment was nullified as Madikiza was "experiencing family problems".143

 

A well-intentioned but unsuitable principal (1988-1989)

In March 1988, the Governing Council interviewed and appointed Allan Campbell as Inanda Seminary's Principal. Campbell's appointment could perhaps be considered an act of desperation due to a dearth of academically qualified black, female and Christian candidates. More than 30 years of Bantu Education rendered non-existent a pool of appropriate applicants from which to choose.

Allan Campbell served as principal from April 1988 until June 1989. In retrospect, Campbell's appointment can be criticised for a number of reasons. First, Campbell, like Maurice Lewis, was an institutional outsider. Second, Campbell's experience did not prepare him to lead a black girls' boarding school.144 Campbell had previously taught at Jeppe High School for Boys, Boksburg High School, The Hill High School, Athlone Boys High School and Treverton College and Preparatory School. Third, Campbell was a white serving a school for black students in a politically charged township where race was a prominent issue. Fourth, Campbell's exuberant personality perhaps led him to be naïve and easily manipulated. Campbell did not command the respect of many students and staff; and the school simply unravelled.

A close examination of the principal's reports for May, September and November 1988 deceptively communicate that all was well. Allan Campbell's reports are pregnant with itemised volunteer initiatives, maintenance tasks accomplished and extra-curricular activities held. Campbell commented positively on the high standard of the staff; the cheerfulness of the students; and the beneficence of donors. He was "impressed" by the quality of teachers; commended the administrative staff on their "very neat appearance and willingness to carry out their various responsibilities"; and was pleased with the "manners and dress of the students".145 It was too good to be true.

By January 1989, disaster struck the school. While accepting students and fees for the new year, over R203 306 was stolen from the school's safe, nearly closing the Seminary. Basic security measures would have prevented the robbery. At about 15h00, Lucky Zulu reported that the school had been robbed. Joseph Magwaza, the bookkeeper, was found tied up and the telephone line was cut.146 Allan Campbell suspected it was an "inside job".147 At least one member of the staff was formally questioned and investigated by the police.148

The sum stolen was phenomenal amount for 1989, 12 percent of Inanda Seminary's budgeted income. Only through accepting loans and liquidating reserves was the school able to keep afloat. Insurance covered a mere R10 000. Other nearby private schools such as Hilton (R5 000) and Kearsney (R5 000) contributed. Unilever (R10 000); Fulton Trust (R10 000); South African Sugar Association, Supervision Services (R500) also assisted. The school faced the year with an uphill financial battle. Although many contributions from other funders were promised, they were likely never realised because shortly thereafter the students and staff inflicted an injury to the school even greater than the theft.

On 2 March 1989, a telephone call alerted Allan Campbell that there was "unrest, rioting and undisciplined behaviour on campus". On 3 March1989 students refused to attend classes. E.C. Gilfillan, the chairperson of the Governing Board, and Bekizipho Dludla were called to assist in calming the situation. All of the above necessitated that Gilfillan conclude the school term on 16 March rather than 23 March 1989.149

During this time, eleven staff members compiled a "memorandum" expressing their "dissatisfaction with the various aspects of the functioning of the school".150 One comment indicated the staff members felt Campbell displayed a "negative attitude towards the African members of staff".151 Staff complaints included:

  • The logging of certain members of staff who did not attend afternoon duty. This was done without informing members of staff about the existence of such a system.
  • After the June holidays the timetable had for a while been a muddle.
  • Some of the Christian teachers still objected to having their backs face the altar during chapel.
  • On certain occasions teachers were called up in pairs for different disciplinary issues.152
  • Students also itemised 25 complaints. Most were as trivial as those submitted by the staff:
  • [Campbell's] kids must not enter our places [where] cleaning mothers have already cleaned.
  • We want the opportunity to watch films of our own choice.
  • Someone whose home faith disallows eating hot food or sitting in a heated place on a Saturday should not be told (not by the principal this time) to leave Inanda and go to a church schools of her own faith ...153
  • When a student has been "marked" [disciplined] 3 times, parents are informed. This is unacceptable to the students.154

Allan Campbell's disposition in 1989 changed from the optimistic one he exhibited earlier in 1988. Campbell began to complain of "apathy among the staff" that filtered down to the students. Students' "requests" at class conferences changed to "demands". At a staff meeting, teachers criticised Campbell for placing advertisements for vacant positions that encouraged Christian teachers to apply. He felt that the deputy principal, Lucky Zulu, was not supportive. Campbell discovered more than one sexual scandal on campus, one with a student and staff member. Staff resisted Campbell's decisions to fire two staff members due to insubordination and indiscipline, one of them being Rowan Marais (Afrikaans/Scripture).

All semblance of order at the school disintegrated in 1989 during the second term. Staff and students effectively made the school ungovernable. Allan Campbell recalls that students were smuggled in and out of campus by car. Two students were expelled for attending parties in KwaMashu.155 Students and staff made calls from the single teachers' cottage at will, inflating the telephone bill. Photocopies were being made without control. Events such as the School Birthday and Beach Day were chaotic due to a lack of discipline. Campbell complained that the teachers did not assist him in enforcing order. The dormitories were reportedly filthy but as a male with limited access to the dormitories after hours, Campbell had difficulty ensuring sanitary conditions there. Furthermore, Campbell received death threats. He grew increasingly ill at ease and said that he felt the Governing Council did not understand his position; nor would the chairperson allow him to respond to the complaints lodged against him. Campbell's health also deteriorated. Matters went from bad to worse; Campbell's father (the property manager) had his car damaged by students; and insulting remarks were written on walls in the Seminary. One day, when Campbell was off campus trying to raise money to recoup the January 1989 theft, he received a call indicating that the students were rioting again.

By the time the Governing Council met on 9 June 1989, Allan Campbell had resigned suffering from severe physical and mental "deterioration".156 He could not sleep; he did not want to medicate himself. Campbell's wife, Judy, signed his resignation letter for him because his hand trembled so badly. He felt an utter failure.157 Lucky Zulu was again appointed as acting principal. Her tenure during the 1990s would end as a consequence of her embezzlement of school funds - a first for an Inanda Seminary principal.

Today, Allan Campbell is not bitter about his experience at Inanda Seminary. In an interview conducted in January 2011 he affirmed staff members such as Erica Joubert (administrative secretary), Kevin Cox (Fulbright exchange teacher from the USA) and Anne and Malcolm Hewer (Secretarial School). Campbell also recalled Gideon Shandu was always helpful and a gentleman. He went on to reflected positively on key students, proving, of course, that all students were not rioting or ill-disciplined. Campbell described the Seminary's head girl, Nelisiwe Sibisi, as "top-notch, helpful and outstanding - her leadership skills were terrific".158 Sibisi reached the final of the Alan Paton Literary Competition and was placed in second position in the Pauline Janisch Memorial Essay Competition with her essay "South African Women: A Challenge for the Technological Future".159

In one of his last Principal's reports, Campbell praised the Seminary's dux scholar, Nomusa Bhengu, for achieving a B aggregate (over 70 percent average) and a distinction in Mathematics.

Despite all the turmoil, Inanda Seminary provided quality education, superior to that in public schools more affected by Bantu Education during the 1980s.The Seminary continued against all odds to produce reasonable, if not admirable, results.160 While a narrative can dwell on the internal and external dysfunction affecting Inanda Seminary, it must be remembered that often routine, mundane and benign activities such as laundry, dining, cleaning, sport and leisure activities predominated school life. This typical or normal aspect of boarding school life is regretfully not featured in this history. It should also be remembered that most of the 900 plus students that passed through the Inanda Seminary gates during the 1980s behaved like typical teenage girls, no better, no worse, often subject to the winds of their environment at home and school. Most of the students excelled at the Seminary and thereafter. For example, Honest Mcanyana was given a scholarship by Shell South Africa to attend a post-matric course at Hilton College and thereafter to enrol at the University of Cape Town to study Mechanical Engineering.

 

Conclusion

Rather than an institution solely focused on the welfare and education of the students (particularly under-privileged black females), Inanda Seminary became in the 1980s an institution distracted by diverse constituencies contesting various agendas. The Seminary resembled a secular public school where antagonisms caused divided loyalties. Principals defended their actions. Faculty were primarily concerned about their terms of service, long leave and timetables. Students demanded their food, movies and unlimited visiting rights. The Governing Council consisted of a hodgepodge collection of church (lay and clergy) members and businessmen who attended one emergency meeting after another, putting out one fire while another was being set.

A distant memory was the time when Lavinia Scott and the American Board fostered an environment in which students, parents, teachers, the Governing Council and the community collectively agreed that the school's priority, to which all else was sacrificed, was the exceptional education of black females and their Christian upbringing. Such a state of collective agreement would not be seen again until the school was administered by its alumnae (1997), the Reverend Susan Valiquette was appointed the school's full-time chaplain (2000) and Judy Tate became its principal (2003).

The ethos of Inanda Seminary was not completely lost in the turmoil of the 1980s. One student, Sibongile Madikane, wrote an essay entitled "The Purpose of Being a Member at Inanda" in which she offered a balance to the earlier repentant student essay with a more hagiographic impression:

Education is what comes to mind about the purpose of being at Inanda. But it is not education alone but our very future that lies ahead. People from all over the world want to know and see what Inanda is all about and to meet the students and staff. What is this big fuss about Inanda?

Women who are famous and well educated were mostly educated at Inanda. Inanda members and ex-members have always followed their motto to "Shine where you are". [They] have always shown their good name. Inanda members are different from other people. Caring, sharing, loving, kindness and intelligence is what is written on their faces. This is the purpose of being at Inanda.161

 

 

1. Daniel Lindley and Lucy Lindley were one of six missionary couples who arrived in southern Africa in 1835.The American Board was the oldest missionary body in North America, established in 1810.
2. S. Couper, "'Shine Where you Are': A Historical Glimpse of Inanda Seminary", The Congregationalist: Magazine of the Congregational Way, 16, 3, September 2012, pp 26-27. Racial categories are social constructs and are thus nebulous. Nonetheless, I use them with reluctance to explain a context where they often determined historical dynamics in South Africa and Inanda Seminary.
3. Following her death in her 98th year, staff and students laid Mary Edwards to rest in the Inanda cemetery near the school.
4. M. Healy-Clancy, A World of their Own: A History of South African Women's Education (University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, Scottsville, 2013), p 90.
5. H. Hughes, "A Lighthouse for African Womanhood: Inanda Seminary, 1869-1 945", in C. Walker (ed.), Women and Gender in Southern Africa to 1945 (David Philip, Claremont, 1990), p 219.
6. S. Couper, "Fearing for its Future: Bantu Education's Threat of Closure to Inanda Seminary", Journal of Gender & Religion in Africa, 17, 1, July 2011, pp 74-95; S. Couper, "What am I Fit for? Negative Manifestations of Bantu Education at Inanda Seminary during the 1970s", Prism: A Theological Forum of the United Church of Christ, 25, 1, Spring 2011, pp 99-125.
7. Meghan Healy-Clancy critiqued a draft version of this paper and rightly commented that I neglect this dynamic in this paper. I acknowledge that the flight from Inanda Seminary of its best and brightest began in the 1980s. Ironically, the rescinding of petty apartheid laws in the late 1980s caused the Seminary to haemorrhage both financially and educationally. The legislated chasm between black and white education was so wide that when blacks were allowed to be educated at former whites only schools, the Seminary could not "compete". In 1986, the Private Schools Act permitted the Seminary's best and brightest, who had the means to flee, to attend private schools. The Education Affairs Act of 1988 allowed former "Model C" schools that unlike Inanda Seminary, received government subsidies for decades, to also accept black students furthering the Seminary's "brain drain". As did most schools that catered for black students, the Seminary continued through the 1990s to withstand the negative ramifications of Bantu Education. See Healy-Clancy, A World of their Own, p 171. The fullest impact of increased competition from former "whites only", now "multiracial", schools was felt in the 1990s and I will focus on this theme in a subsequent article.
8. Today, the school thrives. It is a member of the Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa (ISASA), the Historic Schools Restoration Project (HSRP) and the South African Extraordinary Schools Coalition (SAESC).
9. Inanda Seminary Archive (hereafter ISA), N. Mabuya, Ezakwamah Edwards, Inanda Seminary Yearbook, 1989, p 25. Bandile Boya (Standard Seven) wrote similarly, "What is Wrong with Us? Girls no longer respect adults / Girls no longer respect the staffroom / What is wrong with us? / When the preacher gives us the Word of God / We make noise, laugh and have fun in the chapel / What is wrong with us? / We don't want to study / We want to be forced to get into classrooms /We no longer respect what we came for / to this world famous school / what is wrong with us?" See p 23.
10. P. Ngonyama, "'The Struggle for Survival': Last Years of Adams College, 1953 1956", Journal of Natal and Zulu History, 28, 2010, pp 36-52.
11. W.M. Kgware, address to Cape African Teachers' Union, Evening Post, 2 July 1966, cited in M. Horrell, Bantu Education to 1968 (South African Institute of Race Relations, Johannesburg, 1968), p 89; Minister of Bantu Education, Hansard, House of Assembly Debates, October 1966, col. 3811.
12. L. Kuper, An African Bourgeoisie: Race, Class, and Politics in South Africa (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965), p 173, cited in Healy-Clancy, A World of their Own, p 139 and endnote 90, pp 249 and 283.
13. The American Zulu Mission is the local, or field, entity of the American Board in Natal, southern Africa. D. Taylor, One Hundred Years of the American Board Mission in South Africa 1835-1935 (no publisher, 1935), p 42.
14. In terms of the Bantu Education Act, the American Board's night schools (adult education), other secondary schools such as Adams College and medical institutions/ vocational schools such as the Bridgman Hospital were all closed. See Horrell, Bantu Education to 1968, pp 12-13.
15. Opinion of the 1956 All-in Africa Conference. Horrell, Bantu Education to 1968, p 60.
16. ISA, Principal's Report to Governing Council (PRGC), C. Koza, 10 May 1980, p 1.
17. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, 10 May 1980, p 3.
18. ISA, Principal's Report to the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (PRUCCSA), C. Koza, 17 September 1980, p 2.
19. For example, former principal Roger Aylard and his wife Darlene's visa renewal applications were rejected and their family had to return to the United States.
20. Ajay Bramdeo, Ramani Leonard, Abbey Naidoo, A. Badasie, Anilkumar Jankeerparsad, Shannil Kowlesar, John Francis and P. Govender.
21. Ajay Bramdeo was one time son-in-law of Constance Koza. Interview with Allan Campbell, by Scott Couper at Inanda Seminary, 24 January 2011.
22. At least since January 1981, Inanda Seminary desired the appointment of a chaplain sponsored by the UCBWM. ISA, Governing Council Minutes (GCM), Minutes of an Emergency Meeting, 81/2, 6, 4c, v. 791, 3 January 1981, p 2.
23. ISA, PRGC, Allan Campbell, 3 March 1989.
24. ISA, Governing Council Report (GCR), Notice Concerning Events on 2 March 1989, n.d, p 1.
25. ISA, PRUCCSA, Lucky Zulu, 1989 Assembly at Kuils River, No. 24, n.d., p 174.
26. Elizabeth Gilmour (Mathematics and Physical Science), Nomvula Kuzwayo (Library), Cynthia Vakaliswa (Biology), Adelaide Abraham (Accountancy and Typing), Esther Sangweni (English), Jennifer Nelson (Shorthand/Typing), Faith Gcabashe (IsiZulu) and most significantly Mabel Christofersen ("redundant position not to be filled") all left the services of the Seminary. Koza employed Karen Roy and Keith Roberts for Gilmour; Sandra Fletcher for Kuzwayo; Nosibanda Khonjwayo for Vakaliswa; Daphene Pamla for Abraham; Jean Moreau for Sangweni; Ann Hewer for Nelson; and Ruby Mbhele for Gcabashe. Information and statistics regarding employee turnover were compiled by Nompumelelo Hlophe from staff files, Principal's Reports, Governing Council Minutes and yearbooks from various years.
27. Richard Duma (resigned); Carol Garn (completion of missionary appointment and did not return to the Seminary for reasons "not unrelated" to Constance Koza); David Brown (resigned, had differences with Koza and wished to continue his studies); Nomsa Magwaza (unknown); Jean Moreau (dismissed); Zuziwe Mthembu-Sipuka (alternative employment); E.B. Ngwazi (alternative employment); Sibongile Magojo (alternative employment); Daphene Pamla (medical reasons); Judith Shier (indefinite departure due to alternative employment); and W. Zigode (deserted post).
28. Fraser Brown (resigned); Jacob Moreki (dismissed); Agnes Cele (retired); Sandra Fletcher (resigned); Bongekile Kunene (dismissed); Emelda Mpanza (dismissed); Ronald Quinn (resigned/dismissed); Keith Roberts (resigned); Angelina Swartz- Finger (dismissed); Magwaza (retired); and Khathija Phili (resigned, unhappy). Donald Segars joined the staff as registrar in November 1981 and resigned in January 1982.
29. For example, Josephine Sithole (Accountancy) resigned at the end of February 1982 because she did not receive a pay increment. Heather le Cordeur (Physical Science) resigned in response to an affront by Constance Koza.
30. The following staff departed and were replaced: Kuar Singh for Pamela Robertson; Lesley Gumbi for Ronald Mfeka; Duncan Dube for Glenrose Nzama; Karen Roy for Mogambry Naidoo; Gail Wilkinson for V. Athiemulam; Bengalee for Fatima Dada; and Zanozuko Mrwebi for Irene Mahlaba. Koza hired Belinda Munro to teach Social Sciences. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, 22 February 1985, p 1.
31. Healy-Clancy, A World of their Own, p 134 claims that "Verwoerd's 1954 demand of a 70% female African teaching force was nearly realised in a generation".
32. For example, Healy-Clancy, A World of their Own, p 170, explains that "after the intensification of educational protests in 1985 and 1986, the state also [in addition to nursing] equalised teachers' salaries [with those paid to white teachers]".
33. The only loophole from this restriction is that the school could inflate the charged "boarding" costs to compensate for the loss of fees (tuition). Couper, "Fearing for its Future", pp 76-77; Couper, "'What am I Fit for?'", p 103; Horrell, Bantu Education to 1968, pp 10-11.
34. ISA, PRUCCSA, C. Koza, 1984 Assembly, pp 1-2. Various wider church instrumentalities administered the Inanda Seminary: From 1869-1957, the American Board; from 1957-1964, the United Church Board for World Ministries; from 1964-1967, the Bantu Congregational Church; from 1967-1997, the United Congregational Church Southern Africa; from 1998 to the present, a Section 21 Company through an independent Board of Governors.
35. ISA, PRGG, C. Koza, 24 May 1986, p 1.
36. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, 8 February 1984, p 2.
37. For example, Constance Koza fell out with Ronald Quinn (registrar) and Angelina Finger (Physical Education and Afrikaans). Both Quinn and Finger departed acrimoniously.
38. "Regional Profile Natal and KwaZulu, 1976-1982, Historical Overview of the Period", p 59. http://www.stanford.edu/class/history48q/Documents/EMBARGO/3chap3.htm, Accessed 3 August 2012.
39 T. Moloi, "Black Student Politics in South Africa 1990-1996", in South African Development Education Trust (SADET), The Road to Democracy in South Africa, Volume 6, 1990-1994 (UNISA Press, Pretoria, 2012), p 5 (electronic version). Published version available from 27 April 2013.
40. G. Gerhart and C. Glaser, From Protest to Challenge: A Documentary History on African Politics in South Africa, 1882-1990, Volume 6, Challenge and Victory, 1980-1990 (Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2010), pp 59-60, cited in Moloi, "Black Student Politics", (electronic version) p 5.
41. ISA, Regional Director of Bantu Education, Pietermaritzburg - Secretary, American Board Mission Council, Mapumulo, 23 November 1957, cited in Healy-Clancy, A World of Their Own, p 135, endnote 64 and p 247.
42. ISA, Staff File (SF), C. Koza, Curriculum Vitae, Constance Miriam Thokozile Koza (née Dlomo), p 1.
43. ISA, Inanda Seminary Oral History Project (ISOHP), interview with Mandisa Zungu (student 1978-1982), Nonhlanhla Khumalo (1979-1982), Ntombenhle Mngomezulu (2002-2006), and Rudo Mphasane (2006-2008) by Healy in Cape Town, 4 May 2009.
44. ISA, PR, C. Koza, Points in reply to charter, 1980, C Koza, 27 August 1980, p 2; ISA, ISOHP, interview with Lungi Kwitshana (student 1976-1980) by Healy in Durban, 5 June 2010.
45. "I really raised the standard of education at the school. If no one else will say it, I will say it for myself". ISA, ISOHP, interview with C. Koza by Healy in Centurion, 2 June 2009, p 5.
46. ISA, ISOHP, interview with Zungu, Khumalo, Mngomezulu and Mphasane by Healy in Cape Town, 4 May 2009.
47. This decision was later rescinded.
48. Koza expressed a fear of men when she first encountered them while attending Fort Hare. ISA, SF, interview with Karen Roy-Guglielmi by Couper and Hlophe at Inanda Seminary, 14 February 2012, p 6.
49. "...you need to be equipped before you can have full participation. You cannot do two things at the same time." See ISA, ISOHP, interview with Koza by Healy in Centurion, 2 June 2009, p 5.
50. ISA, PR, C. Koza, Events and Staff Problems, 28 November 1980, p 9.
51. ISA, GCR, UCCSA, Staff Relationships at Inanda Seminary, 3.3.a., 11 December 1980, p 5.
52. ISA, GCR, K.M. Smith, Visit to Inanda Seminary, 14 February 1979, p 4.
53. The Governing Council dismissed Maurice Lewis after he conducted a "scorched earth" defence in early 1979, apparently willing to sacrifice the school to defend himself from allegations. Many of the allegations against Lewis are arguable. Nonetheless, the unprofessional, unilateral and ferocious manner in which he retaliated warranted his termination by any school's governing council. ISA, PRGC, Maurice Lewis, General/b./ i.-x., 10 February 1979, pp 3-4; ISA, GCM, UCCSA, Assembly Education Committee (AEC), 10/AEd.Co./79, 13 February 1979, pp 5-7; and ISA, GCR, K.M. Smith, Visit to Inanda Seminary, 14 February 1979, pp 2 and 4.
54. For example, Lewis did not require parental permission for matriculation students to travel to town unescorted. ISA, ISOHP, interview with Nontando Nyembezi (student 1975-1980) by Healy in Durban, 16 April 2009, p 2; ISA, ISOHP, interview with Khanyisile Kweyama (student 1976-1980) by Healy in Johannesburg, 29 May 2010, p 5.
55. ISA, GCM, UCCSA, AEC, 10/AEd.Co./79/3, 13 February 1979, p 5.
56. ISA, SF, Carroll Jacobs, telephonic interview with C. Jacobs by Scott Couper, 6 June 2012.
57. An "old girl" is an affectionate term for students who attended Inanda Seminary in the past, that is, alumnae. ISA, ISOHP, interview with Constance Koza by Healy in Centurion, 2 June 2009, p 4.
58. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, Events and Staff Problems at Inanda Seminary during 1980, 24 November 1980, p 3.
59. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, 10 May 1980, p 1.
60. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, Principal's Notes to the Executive, 18 January 1980, p 1.
61. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, Principal's Notes to the Executive, 18 January 1980, p 1.
62. ISA, SF, P. Kearney, "Control in the SA Schooling System", typescript of a talk at Natal University, Pietermaritzburg, p 9. Kearney wrote of the emphasis on discipline in the school system under the influence of Afrikaner nationalism. He gave Maurice Lewis as an example of a principal being "summarily dismissed" for not implementing "rigid control". Contrary to Kearney's example, Arthur Askew's resignation as head of the English Department cited Lewis's "method of handling staff [being] entirely suitable to a government school, but is not apt at a school of the nature of Inanda". ISA, SF, correspondence Askew - Lewis, 14 September 1978; ISA, ISOHP, interview Khanyisile Kweyama (student 1976-1980) by Healy, Johannesburg, 29 May 2010.
63. ISA, SF, C. Koza, "To Staff Members: Charter, 1980, the Principal Mrs C. Koza", undated, p 5.
64. Carol Garn expressed an interest in returning only following Constance Koza's departure. ISA, GCM, 2.2, 4 March 1988, p 1.
65. ISA, SF, C. Koza, "Inanda Seminary: Reply to Staff Criticisms during the Commission of Enquiry", December 1980, pp 1-3.
66. ISA, SF, C. Koza, "Points in Reply to Charter,1980, Mrs C. Koza", 27 August 1980, pp 1-2.
67. Form V students are Grade 12/matriculation students.
68. ISA, PRUCCSA, C. Koza, 1980 Assembly, 17 September 1980, p 1.
69. ISA, GCM, Extraordinary Meeting, 8 July 1980, pp 1-3.
70. A. Jeffery. People's War: New Light on the Struggle for South Africa, (Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball, 2009), p 49.         [ Links ]
71. ISA, PR, C. Koza, Events and Staff Problems in 1980, 24 November 1980, p 4.
72. ISA, PR, C. Koza, Events and Staff Problems, 24 November 1980, pp 1-2, 6-7, 10; ISA, SF and PR, E.J. deV. Hendrickse - Staff, 27 July 1973. Edith Hendrickse is sister to Alan Hendrickse, who was leader of the coloured tri-cameral parliament. Aylard confronted her with proof that she lied about her doctoral qualifications. One student adds Dumisani Zondi to the list of staff forced to leave their positions by principals, "driven out by the powers that be". See also ISA, ISOHP, interview with Khanyisile Kweyama (student 1976-1980) by Healy in Johannesburg, 29 May 2010, p 5.
73. ISA, PR, C. Koza, Events and Staff Problems, 24 November 1980, p 10.
74. ISA, SF, C. Koza, correspondence to the Governing Council from C. Koza, 15 November 1982.
75. Form IV students are Grade 11/Standard 9 students.
76. ISA, PR, C. Koza, Principal's Notes, 3, d., ii., 18 January 1980, p 3.
77. ISA, PR, C. Koza, Events and Staff Problems, 24 November 1980, p 6.
78. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, 15 November 1980, p 1.
79. The staff elected not to promote the students to Form V. They were required to repeat Form IV if they re-submitted themselves for re-application with their parents. The school eventually re-admitted eight of the eighteen students of whom only five elected to return and repeat Form IV. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, 3: 1, 7 March 1981, pp 2-3.
80. Koza offered her resignation to the Governing Council in an August 1981 special meeting. The Council resolved to accept the resignation in the same meeting and asked that a letter from Koza be submitted at the next meeting. In November 1981, the decision was reversed. Koza again wrote a letter of resignation in November 1982. ISA, GCM, Special Meeting, 2 and 3.1, 12 August 1981, pp 2-3; ISA, GCM, 8.i.b, 28 November 1981, p 3; ISA, SF, C. Koza, correspondence to the Governing Council from C. Koza, 15 November 1982.
81. ISA, GCM, 9 August 1980, pp 1-2.
82. ISA, GCM, correspondence to the Governing Council from B. Dludla, 11 September 1980.
83. ISA, GCM, C. Koza, Reply to Staff Criticisms during the Commission of Inquiry, December 1980, pp 1-3.
84. ISA GCM, UCCSA, Staff Relationships at Inanda Seminary, 11 December 1980, pp 1-7; ISA, GCM, notice to the Governing Council from B. Dludla, 14 December 1980.
85. ISA GCM, UCCSA, Staff Relationships at Inanda Seminary, 11 December 1980, p 7.
86. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, 12 September 1981, p 1.
87. ISA, SF, Jacob Moreki, correspondence from Constance Koza - J. Moreki, 18 August 1981.
88. Sometime later, Moreki was killed, stoned to death, in KwaMashu during unrest. ISA, SF, J. Moreki, e-mail correspondence from Mtholephi Mthimkhulu to Couper, 15 October 2010 and 10 September 2012; ISA, ISOHP, interview with Pamela Dube (student 1980-1984), Siphokazi Koyana (1981-1985), Nomsa Makhoba (1981-1985), Nozizwe Maneli (1981-1985) and Vuyo Ncwaiba (1984-1985) by Healy in Johannesburg, 1 June 2009, p 9.
89. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, 12 September 1981, p 1; ISA, SF, Angelina Finger, memorandum from Koza to the Governing Council Executive, 7 July 1981, p 5.
90. ISA, PR, UCCSA, C. Koza, 17 September 1980, p 2.
91. In the mid-1980s, the government erected the township of Inanda around the school. Plans for train stations and bus terminals threatened the territorial integrity of the school. During this time the school also became hemmed in by a peri-urban housing development. Koza organised many community meetings and advocacy efforts, thwarting some of the worst infrastructural plans the government had envisioned.
92. ISA, PR, C. Koza, November 1982, p 1.
93. ISA, PR, C. Koza, 22 January 1980, p 2.
94. ISA, PR, UCCSA, Natal Region, C. Koza, 1, 2 May 1981, p 1.
95. ISA, PR, C. Koza, 4, 21 May 1982, p 1.
96. ISA, GCM, Emergency Staff Meeting Concerning the Principal's Report about her visit to Pretoria to investigate the validity of the 1981 Matric results, 18 February 1982, p 1.
97. ISA, GCM, Emergency Staff Meeting Concerning the Principal's Report, 18 February 1982, p 1.
98. ISA, GCM, Emergency Staff Meeting, 18 February 1982, p 1.
99. ISA, PR, UCCSA, C. Koza, 1983, p 2; ISA, GC, C. Koza, correspondence to parents, March 1982. This was not an isolated incident. Three Standard Nine students were caught copying in the examination room. ISA, PR, C. Koza, 13 December 1985.
100. Koza explained that she felt the NSC exam was too "nebulous". ISA, SF, C. Koza, interview by Couper at Inanda Seminary, 16 April 2010. Koza herself took the JMB in 1945. Koza felt a great sense of pride in having taken the JMB exam as "you could go anywhere in the world". ISA, ISOHP, interview of Koza by Healy in Centurion, 2 June 2009, p 5.
101. ISA, ISOHP, interview of Koza by Healy in Centurion, 2 June 2009, p 5. The results were mixed. 1980: 100% NSC pass rate (91% exemption); 1981: 64% NSC pass rate (18% exemption); 1982:100% NSC pass rate (94% exemption) to 93% JMB pass rate (87% exemption); 1983: 72% NSC pass rate (22% exemption) to 71% JMB pass rate (20% exemption); 1984: 92% NSC (59% exemption) to 100% JMB pass rate (82% exemption); 1985: 97% NSC pass rate (78% exemption) to 75% JMB pass rate (29% exemption); 1986: 95% NSC pass rate (89% exemption) to 93% JMB pass rate (93% exemption). ISA, the above statistics were compiled by Nompumelelo Hlophe using reports, minutes and matriculation result files from various years. In 1986, Koza wrote a sober assessment of the experiment. "The [1985] results were unexpected, showing the best in NSC. Obviously this situation has placed us in a dubious position where we can no longer speak with assurance of the fairness of JMB. Most of the students this year seemed to opt out of the NSC final examinations, with few exceptions. It is very difficult to encourage them one way or the other". ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, 7 February 1986, p 1.
102. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, 13 December 1985, p 1.
103. Jabulani Sithole was formerly a Natal Medical School student. Healy-Clancy, A World of Their Own, pp 177-8.
104. ISA, GCM, Emergency Staff Meeting, 18 February 1982, p 2.
105. ISA, GCM, Emergency Administrative Meeting, 19 February 1982, p 2.
106. ISA, GCM, Emergency Administrative Meeting, 19 February 1982, p 2.
107. Neil Aggett was killed on 5 February 1982.
108. In an interview, Seery indicated that she did not recall the manner of her antagonistic departure. However, she did vaguely recall that she and Sithole instituted legal proceedings against the school through the Legal Resources Centre. ISA, interview with Patricia Seery by Scott Couper, at Inanda Seminbary, 11 January 2013.
109. Healy-Clancy, A World of Their Own, p 188 and endnote 88 pp 260-261. Healy- Clancy cites: ISA, PRGC, 19 August 1983; ISA, PRGC, 10 May 1980; ISA, PRGC, 25 November 1983.
110. Bread for the World (Germany) primarily funded the "New Germany" dormitory constructed in 1981. Currently, it is named the Agnes Wood hostel. Anglo- American primarily funded the second dormitory, "iGoli" constructed in 1983- 1984.Currently, it is named the Margaret Nduna hostel.
111. Enrolment: 1980 (374); 1981 (357); 1982 (420); 1983 (430); 1984 (419); 1985 (450); 1986 (475); 1987 (521). Of course, these figures changed during the course of any particular year.
112. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, 10 May 1980, pp 2-3.
113. ISA, PR, C. Koza, Fund-Raising Report for the Period June 1979 to July 1993, 31 July 1983, p 1. Koza noted: "This sum ... excludes any monies donated by regular donors who have not been approached specifically. It also excludes student fees, USA grant, UCC gifts from the USA and gifts raised in kind, e.g. food donated during the At Homes".
114. ISA, PR, C. Koza, 1983, Overseas Fund-Raising Trip Undertaken from 6 September -13 October, n.d., pp 1-2.
115. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, 24 May 1986, p 2.
116. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, 24 May 1986, p 2.
117. ISA, GCM, 2, 25 May 1984, p 1. As a condition, the grant would contribute exclusively to the teachers' salaries.
118. ISA, GCM, 3.1, 21 August 1987, p 2.
119. ISA, GCM, 3.1, 4 March 1988, p 1.
120. ISA, GCM, 5(c), 28 May 1988, p 1.
121. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, 24 May 1986, p 2.
122. ISA, GCM, Annual General Meeting, 2.5, 24 May 1986, p 2; ISA, GCM, 5, 24 May 1986, p 2.
123. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, 24 May 1986, p 2.
124. South African History Online, "A State of Emergency", http://www.saha.org.za/ ecc25/ecc under a state of emergency.htm, Accessed 13 October 2012, p 1.
125. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, 22 August 1986, p 1.
126. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, 7 February 1986, pp 1-2.
127. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, 7 February 1986, p 1. The Governing Council acknowledged that political organisations would pressurise parents to withdraw their children from boarding schools. ISA, GCM, 14, 22 August 1986, p 1.
128. ISA, PR, UCCSA, C. Koza, 1986 Assembly, p 1. These threats were real, not idle. For more information on COSAS and the degree to which it used violence to motivate student protest and solidarity see Moloi, "Black Student Politics in South Africa, 1990 -1996", (electronic version), pp 3-55. Published version available from 27 April 2013.
129. ISA, PRGC, C. Koza, 7 February 1986, p 2.
130. Minutes exist for these meetings. However, I have yet to find a copy of these minutes.
131. Carroll Jacobs strongly believes that Koza was forced to resign for having placed Inanda Seminary under the ambit of KwaZulu. ISA, SF, Carroll Jacobs, telephonic interview with Jacobs by Couper, 22 May 2012. As mentioned earlier, for many reasons Jacobs' suspicion does not resonate with the archival record. ISA, GCM, 7, 23 May 1987, p 1; and ISA, GCM, 3.1, 21 August 1987, p 2. The Governing Council decided on 3 November that it wished to investigate the causes of Koza's resignation. This suggests that at the time of her resignation, Koza's motives were not entirely clear. ISA, GCM, "Minutes of an Emergency Meeting", 3 November 1986, p 4.
132. ISA, GCM, Emergency Meeting, 3 November 1986, p 1; ISA, GCM, correspondence to the press from H Bhengu, 6 November 1986.
133. ISA, GCM, Emergency Meeting, 3 November 1986, p 2. Badenhorst only held a BA (Hons) in Afrikaans.
134. ISA, GCM, Emergency Meeting, 3 November 1986, p 2. During the 1980s, it often seems to be the case that black members of the Council (Bekizipho Dludla and Gideon Shandu, H. Bhengu and K.K. Mthiyane in this case) were repeatedly given the difficult task of addressing "unruly" staff and students on behalf of the often (but not always) whites-led Governing Council.
135. ISA, GCM, Emergency Meeting, 3 November 1986, pp 2-3.
136. ISA, GCM, Emergency Meeting, 3 November 1986, p 1.
137. ISA, GCM, 12.2, 21 August 1987, p 3.
138. ISA, GCM, 4, Vandalism on Campus, 20 November 1987, p 5.
139. ISA, GCM, 12.2, 21 August 1987, p 3.
140. To be a principal at Inanda Seminary in the 1980s, one had to have a university degree. In 1948, there were only 400 Africans attending university; just a precious few were female. See Healy-Clancy, A World of Their Own, p 124. Koza held a B.Sc. in Botany, Zoology and Psychology; a post-graduate diploma in Education; and a MSc in Community Development. See ISA, SF Koza, Curriculum Vitae, n.d.
141. In August 1987, a maximum intake of 500 students was proposed.
142. ISA, GCM, Special Meeting, 2.b. and c., 25 September 1987, pp 1-2.
143. ISA, GCM, 20 November 1987, p 1.
144. ISA, SF, Allan Campbell, Curriculum Vitae.
145. ISA, PRGC, Allan Campbell, 28 May 1988, p 1.
146. ISA, SF, A. Campbell, interview with Campbell by Couper and Hlophe at Inanda Seminary, 24 January 2011.
147. ISA, SF, A. Campbell, interview with Campbell by Couper and Hlophe at Inanda Seminary, 24 January 2011.
148. ISA, SF, A. Campbell, interview with Erica Joubert by Couper at Inanda Seminary, 15 October 2012.
149. ISA, GCR, Notice from E.C. Gilfillan to Pupils and Staff, 3 March 1988.
150. ISA, GCR, Memorandum from Inanda Seminary staff, n.d., p 1.
151. ISA, GCR, Memorandum from Inanda Seminary staff, n.d., p 1.
152. ISA, GCR, Memorandum from Inanda Seminary staff, n.d., pp 1-3. The memorandum is signed by Charity Mtshali (IsiZulu, Afrikaans and English); Goodness Mkhize (Mathematics); and Richard Mthembu (Biology). All three had been recently hired, at least two of them by Campbell.
153. This is likely in reference to a student who was a follower of the prophet Isaiah Shembe (the Nazareth Baptist Church).
154. ISA, GCR, Complaints from Students, 2 March 1989, pp 1-2. Note: Halfway through the list, the penmanship changes from a student's print to, presumably, a teacher's cursive. The latter's prose is more sophisticated and the students are spoken of in the third person plural tense. All of which suggests that teachers were again instigating the students for their own purposes.
155. ISA, GCM, 9, 9 June 1989, p 3.
156. ISA, SF, A. Campbell, interview with Campbell by Couper and Hlophe at Inanda Seminary, 24 January 2011.
157. ISA, SF, A. Campbell, interview with Campbell by Couper and Hlophe at Inanda Seminary, 24 January 2011.
158. ISA, SF, A. Campbell, interview with Campbell by Couper and Hlophe at Inanda Seminary, 24 January 2011.
159. ISA, "Competitions", Ezakwamah Edwards, Inanda Seminary Yearbook, 1989, p 14.
160. In 1987, the Seminary achieved a 100% pass rate (NSC) and a 73% exemption rate. In 1988, there was a 100% pass rate (NSC) and a 92% exemption rate. In 1989, there was an 88% pass rate (NSC) and a 34% exemption rate. These statistics were compiled by Hlophe using reports, minutes and matriculation result files.
161. ISA, Sibongile Madikane, "The Purpose of being a Member at Inanda Seminary", Ezakwamah Edwards, Inanda Seminary Yearbook, 1989, p 19. Lorraine Shabalala (Standard Six) wrote similarly: "What a Lovely School: What a lovely school / which has hard working students and teachers / What about the standard of education? / Come and see and learn for yourself. / If you want to join us / The gates are open to everyone / Come and witness / the girls of Inanda / walking in the light", p 21.

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