Background

Dimani Agricultural High School was established in 1978, the first of its kind in the former Venda homeland. As articulated in its name, the school was intended for students pursuing careers in agriculture which was a much needed skill for the area at the time. With Venda having such rich agricultural land and resources, the establishment of the school was a well-thought idea.

The location of the school was the current University of Venda. It boosted modern infrastructure at the time; fully-equipped classrooms, a library, laboratory, agricultural facilities and a boarding house. Students came from as far as Johannesburg and around the homeland. Teachers were predominantly white with only Mrs Nthangeni and Mr Sitsula being the Vhavenda teachers. The curriculum offered 3 compulsory languages; Tshivenda, English and Afrikaans with content subjects being; Mathematics, Physical Science, Biology and Agricultural Science. The school was very fortunate to have been established just after the victory of the 1976 youth who refused to have Afrikaans as a medium of instruction for content subjects.

Different from its later years in the beginning a teacher stayed in one class and the students would move around from one teacher to another according to the subjects.

Relocation from Thohoyandou to Shayandima was devastating and some students left the school. The move was to make way for the establishment of the University of Venda. The initial shock was the boarding facilities which were of a lower grade as compared to the original Dimani; boys and girls hostel were demarcated with a big wall. The number of beds in one dormitory room, from 4 single beds at the Thohoyandou premise to bunk beds that slept 38 people in one dormitory room. No lockers, all our items were kept in the same travel suitcase or trunk (steel) tins. The showers and bathrooms were sub- standard, Laundry had concrete floors that damaged delicate material. Kitchen and dining facilities were of poor quality compared to the original. After some time a new hostel was erected for girls which had better facilities.

Dimani was not only an Agricultural High School, but it also specialised in the sciences. It competed with Mbilwi High School. The school’s academic achievement was only comparable to Mbilwi, and even better at times. Students would take part in science and maths competitions, winning awards and flying overseas to participate in international competitions.

Dimani High was also very competitive in sports, athletics in particular. Unlike other neighbouring schools, the school took sports very seriously. During sports days everything else came to a standstill, student and staff converged to the sports field. Sport days were very colourful and competitive, and Students were rated as the best when they competed with other schools.

Dimani was also different from other schools in that students participated in extra-mural activities such as drama, singing, jive, gumboot-dance, etc. At some point our choir went as far as Venda College of Education. We did not win the competition, but we registered our presence.

The uniform, before anything else was out of this world (for lack of a better expression), and students wore it with pride.

Boarding and lodging for learners closed at the end of 1986, most probably influenced by students uprising around the area. Some of the students who were leaders of the students protest became prominent politician. The school closed for almost two weeks and at the end of the year it was announced that there will no longer be boarding from the following year. Most of the students did not return to the school and it was only those who could travel to the school on daily basis.

Students, like other any other of their age elsewhere then, were sometimes delinquent (the same way that high school students normally were), albeit at an acceptable and tolerable extent, but they were also very cooperative, agreeable, and acquiescent. The very few labelled as ‘rotten eggs’ were dealt with in the usual manner, and these are students who ended up being prominent leaders in their own right.

The school continued to be popular amongst parents and students. Some students moved to Mbilwi Secondary School to complete their matric. Things were never the same after the closure of the boarding school and it can be said that the ‘glory days’ were over.

The school continued to offer mathematics, science and agriculture as core subjects. The agriculture infrastructure was improved with cattle, fowls, sheep and crop farming. While the school did not rank amongst the top, it continued to produce some quality results and students who are acclaimed professional today.

In 2019, some former students gathered to reminiscence on the great influence school that the school had in their lives. They decided to make an effort to restore the school to its former pride and glory. It is this journey that has laid a foundation for many to follow and contribute to the as school as Dimani Alumni.

This website and its content is a result of collective effort from students who continue to feel as part of the school and its rich History preserved.