History of Jabulani Technical School
The purpose of establishing the school was to introduce black learners to the Commercial and Technical field in which they were previously exempted from accessing due to apartheid rationale hence Jabulani Technical High School became the first Technical High School in Soweto.
In 1973 the teacher Training College was incorporated into the school premises alongside learner education. In 1978 the last group of the teacher trainees was registered, 1979 was the year of transition wherein the school became a pure technical institution. The teacher trainee was transferred to the Soweto College of Education which was then established in Pimville, Soweto. The learners who studied commercial subjects were transferred to Bhukulani High School together with the educators. In the same construction of the workshops commenced and this project was sponsored by Old Mutual and was officially opened on the 6th October 1979.
The statistics show that the current learner has since seized the opportunity to obtain technical skills eagerly when a comparison is made of 673 learners enrolled in 1991 to 1612 enrollments in 2001. In 1992 Mr. Van Staden was succeeded by Mr. D. R. Mbense who became the first black principal black principal of the school. This mirrored the political situation in the country and the changes showed the fall of the apartheid era in South Africa. Mr. D. R. Mbense was then succeeded by Mrs. T. P. Manana who brought a lot of changes in the school. One of the changes was the dash board where each Department head had to indicate members of his/her department, what they teach and their period allocation. Another change that she brought was the weekly itinerary. Departments were encouraged to plan well in advance for what they were planning to do. They were made to account for each day that they spent at school.
LOCATION
Jabulani Technical High School is ideally situated on a main road called Koma Road that runs through the main business district in Jabulani, one of the townships in Soweto. It is surrounded by the Jabulani Police station, the Jabulani Mall, the Emergency Services and the Zola Hospital that has been recently completed. A recently upsurge in the development of Soweto has greatly benefited the Jabulani Township and subsequently the school as a whole. The area is still under development and the potential for growth is increasing in leaps and bounds. This also has a potential for learners who are in a position to utilize the development for their own future in the technical field by gaining valuable experience in the practical environment.
ENVIRONMENT
The environment is neatly kept. The grass is regularly mowed. During break time learners enjoy their lunch meal on the lawn and under the shades. This helps learners to have a positive outlook on life, and have correct perspective due to the abundance of oxygen levels.
STUDENT POPULATION
The school has enrolled a total of 673 learners for 2013. There are currently 452 males and 221 females. The school has an enrolment of only Black learners. There is no other race group. Although the school has non-racial admission policy, only black learners from the surrounding school environment enroll at this school. The learners are from a diverse catchment area surrounding the school which includes Jabulani, Zondi, White City, Zola extensions, Moletsane, Naledi, Emndeni, Snake Park, Slovo ville as well as Braamfischer. The reason for the extended feeder area is because Jabulani Technical High School offers a curriculum that is purely technical as compared to other Jabulani Technical High School offers a curriculum that is purely technical as compared to other High School in the area which offer commercial, humanities, arts and culture etc. Learners who are interested in studying towards a career in the engineering field enroll at the school. Learners are inspired when they are involved in their studies. They feel motivated, and willing to perform at their best. Many learners have shown potential beyond their abilities and have, on several occasions been successful in many ventures. Learners are enthusiastic to participate in competitions that are able to showcase their abilities in the technical arena.
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