Ohlange High School
| Ohlange High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
|
Inanda Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, 4310 South Africa |
|
| Information | |
| School type | Secondary |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Christian |
| Founded | 1900 |
| Opened | 26 July 1901 |
| Founders | John and Nokutela Dube |
| Chairperson | M E Nxumalo |
| Principal | S A Nxumalo |
| Teaching staff | 42 (2016) |
| Employees | c. 60 |
| Pupils | 1192 (2016) |
| Classrooms | 24 |
Ohlange High School is a secondary school in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded by John Dube and Nokutela Dube née Mdima. It was the first school in South Africa started by a black person. John Dube was also the first President of what became the ANC. The school was chosen by President Nelson Mandela as the place where he would cast his vote in the first racially inclusive election in South Africa in 1994.
The school was founded in 1900 as the "Zulu Christian Industrial School" by John Langalibalele Dube and his first wife, Nokutela. The school, also known as the Ohlange Native Industrial Institute, was the first educational institution in South Africa to be founded by a black person. The land for the school was donated by Chief Mqhawe of the AmaQadi. John had been in contact with Booker T. Washington and modeled the school after the Tuskegee University in America. As a result, the Zulu Christian Industrial Institute laid emphasis on developing self-reliance in its students. In 1901 the school was renamed the Ohlange Institute. The school was called "Ohlange" by Dupe based on the word "uhlanga" which means the point of new growth in a plant or an ancestor for a descended family.
The school was so popular initially that students were sleeping without beds. The finances were difficult in the first few years. A solution to this came from an American committee that supported Dupe's belief that Christian conversion could be achieved via industrial education. A leading member of the committee was the Illinois pastor Sidney Dix Strong who had visited South Africa and had included the Ohlange Institute to his itinerary. Strong's wife died on the journey back to Chicago and Strong decided to use the Ohlange cause to distract himself from his loss.
Strong was able to arrange for the Dube's to meet Douglas and Emaroy June Smith who became rich due to patent medicines and in time from the Pepsodent toothpaste brand. They donated thousands of dollars to the school which enabled for more teachers to be employed. This was in addition to the money that Dube obtained from the family of Anson Phelps Stokes.
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