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Dr.C.Samuel is currently the Headmaster of an Independent school in Lenasia Gauteng. Prior to this post he was a Senior lecturer at Regenesys School of Public Management, lecturing Financial Management, Project Management and related courses . He was the Deputy Chief Education Specialist in the Policy and Planning unit of District Johannesburg West in Gauteng Department of Education. Before the restructuring of the District Offices he was the Head of the teaching and Learning Unit. He is a seasoned educator/principal who has worked in the education sector for the past thirty eight years. Most of the time he was teaching Commercial Subjects at Senior Secondary level. His studies at various universities include the B.Com (Unisa, 1975); B.Compt (Hons){Unisa,1979}; B Ed (Wits, 1984) and M Ed (Educational Management) {RAU, 1996) degrees. Dr. Samuel completed his Doctorate in Education at RAU in 2000 his dissertation dealt with the topic: “The Training and Development of Principals in the Management Financial and Physical Resources."

He serves on numerous Religious and Welfare Organisations mainly in executive positions.

He is also a member of a number of accounting bodies such as FICB; FASA and SAIPA.

Tom Bisschoff was born in Pietermaritzburg in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, also called the last outpost of the British Empire by the rest of South Africa. He completed his high school education in this green and hilly city that reminds you of Bath in England.

After graduating in Accountancy he joined the teaching profession at a high school in Durban. He took up a lecturing post at the University of South Africa (UNISA - the largest distance university in South Africa) in 1976. In 1983 he became head of the Accountancy Department at a University of Technology (formerly known as a Technikon [Polytechnic]). In 1984 he was appointed professor and campus director at one of the campuses of Vista University (in 2004 incorporated into other existing universities such as the University of Johannesburg).

Since 1996 Tom has been Professor of Education Management at the University of Johannesburg (previously Rand Afrikaans University). He is presently the Head of Department.

Various articles appeared over the years in journals and he also authored and co-authored eight books in the field of Education Management and the teaching of Business Subjects. His most recent books are titled Public School Governance in South Africa (2007), Project Management in Education and Training (2004), Effective School Marketing (2004) and Financial School Management Explained (2003) . Tom holds an honours degree in Accountancy and a doctorate in Education and is a National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF) rated researcher in the field of Education Management. He was a guest editor for a special issue on Education Management in Africa for the prestigious International Studies in Educational Administration (ISEA) journal and is co-editor of the South African Journal for Education Leadership and Management (SAJELM) .

He is the vice president of the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management (CCEAM) and has been admitted, in 2006, as a fellow of this international body.

Vitallis Chikoko holds the research portfolio in the EMASA executive. He was elected to the executive in March 2007 at the EMASA annual conference. Vitallis is a lecturer in Education Leadership, Management and Policy in the Faculty of Education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) where he is currently head of the discipline. In his PhD, which he passed in 2006 at the UKZN, he studied school governance in Zimbabwe. Vitallis has taught at primary, high school and teachers’ college levels before joining the university sector. Prior to his appointment at the then University of Natal in 2002, he taught in the Zimbabwe Open University for 8 years. He has taught for a total of 25 years. His current research interests are in two main areas namely school governance and leadership and management in higher education. He has published in journals such as International Studies in Educational Administration (the journal for the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management: CCEAM), Africa Education Review and Education Studies.

Qualifications: B. A.(Law); Higher Ed Diploma.; Bachelor of Education, Diploma in Education Management; Masters Degree in Education Management. Current: recipient of a Spencer Fellowship towards a Doctorate in Education.

Served as a teacher and later head of department in a Secondary School in Gauteng. Was then appointed to the Education Management and Governance Unit of the Gauteng Department of Education. Acted as head of the Management and Governance unit in the Department. Managed the establishment of The Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership and Governance- the first education leadership institute in South Africa. Was then appointed as Director of the Leadership and Management directorate at MGSLG. Led the development of a practice – based approach for the development of school principal.

Current Position: Acting Chief Operations Officer at The Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership and Governance.

Other affiliations:

• An executive member of the Education Management Association of South Africa.
• Chairperson of the National Standards Generating Body for the establishment of Norms and Standards for Education Management in South Africa

Alison Bengtson-Mali was born in Zululand in KwaZulu-Natal. She completed her high school and her B.Sc (1988) in the same province.

After completion of her studies, she moved to Gauteng, taking up a post as a Mathematics educator at Fred Norman Secondary in Ennerdale. She taught there until June 1997. In 1993 she was appointed as Head of the Mathematics Department.

In 1992 she successfully completed her Higher Education Diploma. In 1995 she completed her Bachelor of Education Degree; in 1999 she did a Masters Diploma in Human Resource Management and in 2004 successfully completed her LLB.

In June 1997, she was appointed into the post of Deputy Chief Education Specialist (coordinator) for the Mathematical Literacy, Mathematics and Mathematical Sciences Learning Area. She also served as Co-coordinator for the Foundation Phase. Her duty in these posts was the development of learning materials for both the Mathematics area and the Foundation Phase Educators. She also had to train and develop educators in both fields.

Because of her strengths in leadership and management, she was identified to be seconded to the Education Training and Provisioning Unit and appointed a District Education Coordinator in 2000. As a DEC, she coordinated the activities of the unit. She had to manage the human and material resources at both primary and secondary schools and a cluster allocated to her. She established mechanisms, procedures and processes to promote stakeholder participation through Representative Structures.

In June 2001, she was appointed as Chief Education Specialist for Curriculum Delivery and Support. The Directorate dealt with ensuring teacher development and that teaching and learning took place in all schools. This directorate also housed the IDSO’s who are the mangers of the schools. The In 2002, the Directorate was split into two, with the Curriculum Directorate being separated from the IDSO Directorate. Alison heads the IDSO Directorate. This Directorate is also responsible for Education Support Services and Learner Teacher Support Material.

Alison is currently serving as Deputy President of EMASA. She is a member of the Provincial Team for the Reorganisation of Schools. She has also been a trustee for the Business Women’s Association.