Tribute to century of Dower College

An exhibition was held last night on the role played by Dower College of Education for more than a century.

The exhibition was the culmination of an eight-month research project spearheaded by the National Heritage Council and local NGO Arts and Teaching Initiatives.

Arts and Teaching Initiatives’ Isaac Metembo said the project produced a comprehensive history of the college.

The exhibition also paid tribute to those who led the institution for many decades.

Metembo said the NGO, which conducted work with schools, had come across a project at Machiu Primary School on Dower College.

“The National Heritage Council was interested in this project and provided funding to take this research further, so we dug a little deeper into the history of the college,” he said.

The college had opened its doors in Hankey in 1899 and in Uitenhage in 1921 before moving to its West End premises in Port Elizabeth’s northern areas in 1975, where it remained until it closed in 2000, he said.

The college catered primarily for coloured teaching students until 1990, when Xhosa-speaking students were admitted.

“We spoke to some of the well-known staff members, including Sammy Snayer, who contributed a wealth of information,” Metembo said.

“Snayer started off as a student at the Uitenhage college, where he qualified as a teacher and later joined the staff as a lecturer. He became a senior lecturer and was the rector when the college closed in 2000.

“Profiling him makes you realise that he came full circle at the college and many other families and individuals were impacted by Dower.

“One of the biggest tragedies with the closure of the college was that a lot of its formal records and old class schedules were lost.

“Other documents were not properly captured and students cannot easily obtain duplicates if they have lost their certificates.”

Snayer said the college had played an important role in education and left a tremendous legacy.

“Virtually every primary school principal in the northern areas has a Dower background and perhaps 70% or 80% of teachers in grades 8 to 10 at high schools in the northern areas is a Dowerian,” he said.

“Dower also produced numerous teachers in the townships after Xhosa-speaking students were admitted and many went on to become principals.

“People are not aware of the important role it played in education and its contribution to the freedom struggle.”

Well-known former staff include Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Danny Jordaan, who lectured at the college from 1980 until 1993.

Snayer said the closure of teacher training colleges had affected education in the northern areas as Dower had produced many Afrikaans-speaking teachers.