After 23 years at the helm of Kannemeyer Primary School in Grassy Park and four decades in education, award-winning principal Ridwan Samodien is calling it a day.
Samodien, a recipient of the International Kader Asmal Lifetime Achiever Award last year, is set to retire at the end of this month. “It is hard to say farewell to a career that does not feel like a job,” the 64-year-old, who turns 65 today (25 July) says.
As an experienced life coach and facilitator, who has committed 43 years and seven months of his life working at socio-economically disadvantaged schools, Samodien spent 21 years as a teacher and 22 years and seven months as principal of Kannemeyer in Grassy Park.
“I started my career at the Salt River Muslim Primary School and moved on to Kannemeyer Primary School after 10 years.”
Samodien briefly left to be the founding principal at Capricorn Primary School.
“Capricorn Primary was a brand new school being built and I was the founding principal.”
After a brief stint at the new school, Samodien moved back to Kannemeyer.
“One thing I am very proud of is that at the fall of apartheid, Kannemeyer Primary was built as a school to deliver inferior education or what we called ‘gutter education’.
“When I became a principal we were bombarded with policies and changes but we became mindful that we needed to give a better education to our children.”
Samodien says their vision was to improve the education of learners at the school.
“We needed to improve the education for our children, even today. We need to align our vision with a quality education for every child in every classroom at Kannemeyer.”
During his time as principal, Kannemeyer Primary had a new science and computer lab built as well as a new library and school hall.
“Early on, we had tremendous struggles and as a young principal, but today we can say we worked towards a greater goal.
“I believe that at Kannemeyer, we put the child first and everything we do is to improve the quality of education for our children. That is the legacy I hope to leave behind.”
In 2019, Samodien was awarded the Woolworths Most Inspirational Principal and in 2021 he achieved the Bronze Certificate in the Western Cape Education Department’s (WCED) Service Excellence Awards in the category Exemplary Leadership.
Meanwhile, in 2022 Samodien achieved both the WCED provincial and national Kader Asmal Lifetime Achievement Awards.
“I believe in leading with love and because of our past where we were colonised, enslaved and of late where there has been tremendous corruption it robbed us of a beautiful future.
“All the world needs is love and I can safely say that I am an example of a leader that has led with love. I made a conscious effort that every person who enters my space leaves in a positive way.
“Teaching and leading is a work of the heart.”
