SOUTH AFRICA: LEEDS AND SOUTH AFRICA STREGHTEN TIES ON EDUCATION

News Leeds Welcomes South African Visitors

Principals and education officials from Leeds’ twin city of Durban have come to Leeds this week to develop new connections between schools in both cities.
The two principals, Mahkosazana Zondi and Dheyakul Govender, are joined on the trip by Bongani Mpanza, a deputy manager of inter-governmental relations. Already this week, they have visited four primary schools in Bramley, Moortown and Guiseley and plan to visit a further seven schools around the Garforth area as part of their visit, which has been arranged by Leeds City Council.

Jane Dowson, an executive board member for learning, highlighted the positives of such initiatives, saying: “I’m sure the schools involved this week will learn from their South African counterparts who, in turn, will reap the benefits of meeting our fantastic teachers, children and young people.”
The deputy chief executive of Education Leeds, Derek Gilliard, praised the cross-cultural aspect of it all. He said: “An understanding of different cultures and countries is important. These visits will help develop our children’s knowledge of life in another country.”

Since 1998, Leeds and Durban have established strong links between our local education authorities and the KwaZulu Natal Department of Education, who stay in regular contact with each other. These school partnerships are designed to be sustainable and add an international dimension to structured learning. The council has said that community cohesion is a vital part of cultural understanding, as part of efforts to counter racism and xenophobia while also preventing the reinforcement of negative stereotypes.



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