Saving South Africa's Schools - Rob Katzen - Conversations With Gabriel

In this episode of Conversations with Gabriel, Gabriel Makin speaks to Rob Katzen about how a group of old boys helped turn Johannesburg’s Jeppe High School for Boys from a declining public school into one of South Africa’s strongest education success stories. Rob explains how Jeppe had fallen into serious decline by the mid-2000s, with falling applications, deteriorating infrastructure, lower fee collection, weak boarding numbers, and collapsing academic performance. He then sets out how alumni, school leaders, parents, and partners helped rebuild the school through better financial management, stronger leadership, campus renewal, restored school spirit, and a clear belief that public education can be fixed. The conversation then turns to EduSafe, a new initiative built from the lessons learned at Jeppe. Rob explains how EduSafe is now working with schools in Johannesburg such as Sandown High School, Sandringham High School, and potentially Northview High School to improve safety, restore campuses, strengthen school management, support principals, and rebuild trust between schools and their communities. Gabriel and Rob also discuss why South Africa cannot abandon public education, why school leadership requires business and management skills as well as educational expertise, how basic infrastructure such as water, security, classrooms, desks, Wi-Fi, and functioning bells can change a school’s culture, and why successful public schools are essential to producing South Africa’s future leaders. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Conversations with Gabriel - Bonsai Shongwe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Subscribe to the channel:    / @thecommonsenseza   Visit our website: https://www.thecommonsense.co.za ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------