70-year-old Retiree Obtains Doctor of Education Degree from UNIZULU
Dr Mandlakayise Victor Langa received an early birthday present on Tuesday, 7 May 2024 when he was conferred a Doctor of Education degree at the age of 70.
Dr Langa obtained his qualification from the University of Zululand (UNIZULU) during the second graduation ceremony of the Faculty of Education.
The 70-year-old retiree was born on 20 May 1953. He is thrilled that he will celebrate his 71st birthday as a doctor of education. Furthermore, he is overcome by a deep sense of pride that he has successfully completed a task that was once daunting and seemed insurmountable.
“Today was an important day for me because I finally achieved something I had wished to attain for a very long time. I am seven years into my retirement now, but I always had this feeling of incompletion in my heart,” he said.
For the newly qualified doctor whose principle is to never leave a task he has undertaken incomplete, this degree signifies his resolve. Despite grappling with technological challenges, Dr Langa overcame these because he was determined to complete his studies. Additionally, attaining a PhD is for Dr Langa an indication of his knowledge enrichment.
“In the past, what would motivate one to study further was that you would get promotion and that your salary scale would improve. But, of course, those things happened in the past. I am no longer interested in that. I am only interested in furthering my education and widening the scope of my experience,” Dr Langa shared.
His study was titled “The involvement of learner-leadership in the school governance of rural secondary schools in the King Cetshwayo District”. Through this study, Dr Langa sought to discover the extent to which representative councils of learners (RCLs) are involved as per the provision of the regulations in South Africa and Schools Act.
The findings revealed, among other things, that the voices of RCLs were seldom heard in the school governing bodies (SGBs), that they were not considered in key decision making and that they were treated as messengers who were expected to feed learners with information coming from the upper structures. His recommendations included that the period of learner leaders serving in the SGB as RCL members should be reviewed so that they are to spend a relatively longer time than the less than eight months most of them spend. It also recommends that sections 20 and 21 of the South African Schools Act No. 84 of 1996 be reviewed such that learners are fully involved in matters that deal with the selection and appointment of educators and non-educators as this will ensure that learner leaders grow in all spheres of life, over and above academic development.
Dr Langa is a father to four daughters. His hope is that they are inspired by his zeal to further his studies and also obtain doctoral degrees.
Employment and Academic Background
Dr Langa’s experience in the education sector spans over 35 years during which he assumed lecturing and management positions. His last occupation was in the King Cetshwayo District where he was a manager in the examinations office.
A lifelong learner, Dr Langa obtained a Junior Secondary Teachers’ Certificate from Adams College in 1981; a Bachelor of Pedagogics and Bachelor of Education from UNIZULU in 1986 and 1989, respectively; a Dip. In Spiritual Leadership from TTI in 1991; a Master of Education from the University of Free State in 1996; a Dip. In Human Resource Management from Damelin in 1996; and Dip. Management Studies from MANCOSA in 2000.
- Naledi Hlefane
