Tsenade Garises’ rise to the top

Tsenade Garises did not begin her working life at the front of a classroom. She started in the margins of one as a school secretary.

Today, she runs a school as principal, having moved step by step from administrative work into teaching and leadership.

The 41-year-old mother of three is the principal of !Aimablaagte Primary School in Mariental, a position she reached not through shortcuts but through determination and taking risks to pursue her passion for teaching.

Born and raised in Keetmanshoop, Garises finished her secondary schooling at Suiderlig High School in 2002.

After completing Grade 12, Garises took on temporary jobs before securing a part-time secretary post at Daweb Combined School in Maltahöhe in 2007.

She later moved to a full-time secretary role at A.I. Steenkamp Primary School, starting in September 2009. But by January 2010, she had decided on a different path – she left her job to study at Windhoek College of Education, where she trained as a teacher until 2012.

Step by step

Asked what drew her to teaching, Garises said she recognised the "difference you can make in a child's life".

Her teaching career began in 2013 at #Khoandawes Primary School in Gobabis, where she took on a Grade 1 class. The work covered the full range: lesson planning, classroom management, teaching and assessment.

She remembers her first morning clearly. "I saw those innocent, scared faces, some excited, others confused, but lovely."

In May 2021, she moved into leadership for the first time, taking up a head of department post at Nossob Combined School in Witvlei. Two years later, she was appointed principal of !Aimablaagte Primary School in Mariental, in the Hardap region.

Never stop learning

She is 13 years into a career that shows no sign of slowing. Along the way, she said the work has shaped her, building patience, endurance and the ability to lead and manage.

“Seeing the changes in the lives of young Namibians I taught made me realise that I was called for such a time as this,” Garises said.

Like all educators, she has faced her share of difficulties, but she has stayed the course, leaning on story-based teaching to keep learners engaged. For Garises, success is built on teamwork, integrity and service. "It means taking risks and learning new things every day," she added.