The Impact of Virus Pandemics on Secondary School Principals’ Management Practices in the Mkhuhlu Circuit of Mpumalanga, South Africa
Maria Thobile Shabangu 
Issue: Vol.6 No. 9 2025 Article 14 pp. 906 – 918
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/jelt.20256914 | Published online 29th September, 2025.
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
The COVID-19 pandemic suddenly swept through nations, impacting every sector, including basic education. This pandemic, unprecedented in its reach and severity, significantly altered the delivery of basic education. This study aimed to examine the influence of the virus pandemics on secondary school principals’ management practices in rural secondary schools in the Mkhuhlu circuit of Mpumalanga, South Africa. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, combining both qualitative and quantitative techniques. Simple random sampling was used to select participants for the quantitative method, while purposive sampling was employed for qualitative data collection. The study discovered that during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, the learning process and the role of school administration shifted dramatically, resulting in a transition to distant learning. The findings highlight the critical role of principals in devising solutions to the challenges posed by the pandemic. Grounded in General Systems Theory (GST), the research underscores the interconnectedness of various school management components and the necessity for adaptive leadership in crisis situations. The study concludes that schools would benefit from a degree of decentralization, granting principals more control over day-to-day activities. This increased autonomy would allow principals to focus more on teaching and effectively manage future crises. The implications of these findings suggest that enhanced training, resource allocation, and support systems are essential for improving the resilience and adaptability of school management practices during pandemics.
Keywords: Management, Outbreak, Pandemic, Principal, Virus, COVID-19.
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Dr. Maria Thobile Shabangu is a passionate South African educator and academic with expertise in educational management and guidance. She holds a BEd FET, a BEd Honours in Guidance and Counselling, and a Master of education degree in Educational Management from the University of Venda. She later obtained her PhD in Educational Management from the University of Zululand. Dr. Shabangu served as a secondary school teacher from 2010 to 2024. During this time, she also held a leadership role in a teachers’ union as an education convenor, where she oversaw key educational matters and presided over meetings on behalf of educators. In 2025, she joined the University of the Free State as a lecturer. She is deeply committed to advancing research, mentoring future educators, and contributing meaningfully to the body of knowledge in South Africa and beyond.
Shabangu, Maria Thobile. “The Impact of Virus Pandemics on Secondary School Principals’ Management Practices in the Mkhuhlu Circuit of Mpumalanga, South Africa.” Journal of Education and Learning Technology 6, no. 9 (2025): 906 – 918. https://doi.org/10.38159/jelt.20256914.
© 2025 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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