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Boland News |
Dated: 2010-06-01
Written by Jandre Bakker
Boland College welcomed the new year with the appointment of a new Deputy CEO: Education and Training.
Xolelo Brian Phike matriculated from Ethembeni High School and went on to obtain both a B.A (in Psychology and African Language) as well as B.Ed degrees at the University of the Western Cape while fitting a Higher Diploma in Education (Guidance and Counselling) between the two followed by a Certificate in Labour and Social Law.
He started his working career in the production industry but soon went on to his passion which till to today is education. He went from ranks of Primary and High School teacher, Head of Department, Deputy Head Master and Head Master to Project Manager in the Office of the Chief Director of Operations and Services and on to Campus Director for fellow Western Cape Public FET, Northlink College. His experience and expertise in the management of Academic matters, human-, financial and physical resources makes him an all-round, balanced team player in this position.
He is a dedicated family man and true to his strong focus on balance, spends as much time as he can with his wife Brenda, three daughters Thembisile, Inawe and Lukhanyo and son, Hloniphile. Many an organization has him on their list of founding members which testifies to his community man’s dedication to society.
When asked what his professional passions are, four things over-arch what he does. These are his passions for contribution to society and the country, his patriotism, a passion for education and for leadership. He says that: “Leadership is not about position, it is about your passion and attitude, the passion with which you do your work, work with other people and inspire and lead them by way of example to give their best as well, to the optimal benefit of the organization and inevitably the country”.
Responding to a question on what his first impressions of Boland College were he said: “It reminds me of home, a rural based organisation with friendly people. Coming from a small rural town in the Northern Cape, Prieska, makes identifying with the unique challenges of rural FET College students, easier.”
This speaker of seven languages went on to say that making a difference and taking other students from rural areas and empowering them through education to become industry leaders is one of his life’s missions. “Many of these students face so many obstacles but all have the potential, if someone guides them over these hurdles, to become great”.
In his opinion, the key challenge to FET Colleges would be to differentiate them from the mediocre, to show that the negative publicity and feedback the sector has been experiencing is unfounded and only an inspiration to do even better.
When asked what his vision is for Boland College and sector as a whole, growing student numbers and becoming the institution of choice stood high on the list but more important remains quality. “I have studied pass and throughput rates of the Colleges in a recently released document on the 2009 results.
We have the numbers but it is one thing to say that throughput or pass rate is x-percent. To be able to quantify and to say that of x-percent passes, 20% passed with an average A, and 50% with an average B is more important,” and went on to say that “…by not only focusing on getting as many students through the system as possible, but increasing our focus on the quality of those passes, we will vastly improve the public and industry’s perception of the quality of the sector.”
He values the input of industry and acknowledges the fact that the FET Sector has to be market responsive but is excited for the day when Colleges will become pro-active, when they do not sit and wait for industry to say what they need, but tell industry what they will be needing in the future while building a optimally skilled labour pool to satisfy that need.
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