In 1960, the government had planned to close the school, to convert it into a men’s hostel. The school had problems with the learners from the then Transvaal and Natal, fighting one another. By this time, the school was a boarding school, providing Arts, Carpentry, Academics, Music etc. It had been indeed an Industrial School, which DR JL Dube had dreamt of.
It became a problem to appoint black principals who had to manage white teachers who were teaching at the school. Slowly the white teachers had resigned at the school.
In 1960, Mr SD Ngcobo, who had been a Principal at Sobantu Secondary School in Pietermaritzburg, decided to cancel the promotion of Inspector appointment at Kokstad, to take the challenge of turning the school around, which was on the verge of being closed by the government and converted to a men’s hostel.
Mr SD Ngcobo had briefly met Dr JL Dube, when he had visited his home, when he was nine years old. He had attended meetings where Mafukuzela was speaking passionately about the school that he was raising funds for in Dundee. He had been inspired by Dr JL Dube, who slept at his home, because, his dad, Rev SS Ngcobo, had been a Chaplain of the ANC that Dr JL Dube had been a President of until 1917.
When SD Ngcobo heard about the imminent closure of the school, he decided as they were driving to Kokstad to be shown his new office as an Inspector, to divert the route to Ohlange, to see the state of the school. Indeed, the school was full of graffiti on the walls, with insults written all over. There and then, he decided to change the course, and move to Ohlange.
When he took over the school, the morale was at it’s lowest ebb, and the results were poor, and everyone was demotivated. He started the rebuilding of the school by introducing a host of initiatives, among others he introduced:
i. The Annual Mafukuzela Week Celebrations
ii. House systems to encourage a spirit of healthy competition among learners in Sport, Music, Arts, Athletics etc.
iii. Speech and Prize giving Days during Mafukuzela Week
iv. Junior Soccer League Competitions
v. Acceptance of learners from all walks of life, including those that had been condemned in other schools
All these activities revitalized and revived Ohlange, and the school became a force to reckon with. Most of the Afrikaner led schools started to take Ohlange seriously, and as a serious rival. There was healthy rivalry among the schools.
SD Ngcobo was a principal from 1960 to 1976, and the legacy was continued by his protégé Mr Godfrey Vusi Sangweni, after it started failing after a few leaders who succeeded him. The school has since established an Alumni Association, to keep the spirit and culture of Mafukuzela alive.