In 2004 Kagiso Trust implemented its pilot of the Beyers Naude Schools Development Programme (BNSDP) in the Vhembe district in Limpopo. In 2007 the program was extended to 10 schools in the Free State’s Thabo Mofutsanyana district in partnership with the Free State Department of Education.
In 2013, Kagiso Trust was able to upscale the model with the partnership between Kagiso Trust and the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation (CRF) to form the Kagiso Shanduka Trust (KST). KST began implementing the District Whole School Development Programme (DWSDP), in partnership with the Free State Department of Education, in 247 schools in the Fezile Dabi and Motheo districts.
By 2011 the programme grew from 10 schools to 166 in 2016. This was the year the BNSDP programme was finally consolidated, and we exited the Thabo Mofutsanyana district. However, the district continues to perform well academically, with the programme’s main outcome being sustainability as a true programme measurement.
The fact that the district continues to perform well academically after our direct involvement ceased is a testament to the sustainability of the DWSDP model.
In 2016, Kagiso Trust partnered with the Limpopo Department of Education to implement the DWSDP in the Sekhukhune District. We look forward to similar successes as those achieved with the Free State Department of Education.