Amathole District Director conferred a Doctor Degree
By Xolisa Mgwatyu
The Department of Social Development’s Amathole District Director Vuyani Langa was among the 3000 plus graduates whose academic achievement were celebrated during the hybrid graduation ceremony hosted by the University of Fort Hare on Monday, 21 June 2021.
Dr Langa was conferred a Doctor of Public Administration, a dream he worked towards since 2018 with the University of Fort Hare.
His Thesis title: “School Managers as catalysts of innovative culture of performance: A case study of selected schools in the Cofimvaba District of the Eastern Cape.”
In an exclusive interview, an elated Dr Langa said the study was motivated by a solution driven approach in the Education sector in the Province with specific focus on School Managers as catalysts of an innovative culture.
He further said the findings confirmed that, modern performance management (or precisely monitoring and evaluation) can help with the timely rectification of variances before they derail policy programmes like the delivery of education services to the public.
Dr Langa said contemporary world calls more for school managers who can thrive and strive for innovativeness rather than remain trapped in bureaucracy. The efficacy of an innovative culture is dependent on a number of variables and the creation of an enabling environment for such innovation.
“Research is a very lonely journey that has to be traversed with patience, sacrifice, disciplined and perseverance,” said Dr Langa. He added that balancing between the demanding stress of his job as the Director and an Acting Chief Director for Corporate Services then was quite a challenge. “I sometimes had to sleep in the office, I remember a day when I received corrections from my external examiner, I worked all night long and left the office at 7am the next morning to prepare for a presentation in the Portfolio Committee,” he said.
Dr Langa is a former school teacher, principal, circuit manager in the Eastern Cape Department of Education and currently a District Director in the department of Social Development.
He holds a Secondary Teacher’s Diploma, a Bachelor of Education from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), an Advanced Certificate in Education from Walter Sisulu University (WSU) , a Bachelor of Education (Honour)s from Unisa and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Fort Hare which was obtained Cum Laude.
Dr Langa said the journey literally affects family life as one becomes an absent father and husband hence he acknowledged his wife, Pozisa for endless support. “It was hard but it was worth it, we reap what we sow. I learnt to respect the reverence for the Creator and in Latin we say Te Deum Laudumus (God, We Praise You)
Dr Langa’s future plans include delving deeper into academia and as a member of South African Association of Public Administration and Management (SAPAAM) , he has since submitted his review paper for publication and is currently working on a journal focusing on the effects of bureaucracy and the inability of the public service to innovate. A solution driven approach has been provided in his Masters thesis titled: A critical analysis of public participation in the integrated development plan: a case of buffalo city metropolitan municipality :Eastern Cape.