Abstract
Crises are unforeseen circumstances that are inevitable in schools. A school crisis is a traumatic event that interrupts the normal day-today functioning of the school and usually has long-lasting, detrimental effects on learners, including school enrolment retention. The explore the lived experiences of departmental heads in enhancing school enrolment retention during crises. The objectives of the study include determining the role and challenges of the departmental head in school enrolment retention during crises and how they navigated the challenges. This study adopts a qualitative research approach through the lens of a constructivist research paradigm. 25 participants, comprising five departmental heads, five principals, and 15 teachers, were selected for the study. Data were collected using one-on-one, semi-structured interviews and analysed using qualitative content analysis. Data indicate that monitoring student attendance, overseeing the efficacy of teaching and learning methods, engaging educators in ongoing professional development, and fostering parental involvement were the pivotal roles played by departmental heads in maintaining school enrolment during crises. The study also shows that the departmental heads encountered constraints such as discrepancies in student attendance, unrecorded student departures and transfers that were not reported, inadequate infrastructure and resources, and poor parental support in retaining school enrolment during crises. The study revealed the approaches adopted by the departmental heads in navigating the constraints encountered when striving to enhance school enrollment retention during times of crisis, which are self-professional development, teacher engagement and support, and collaboration with stakeholders. It is therefore recommended that, during crises, a system be created for the school enrolment to be efficient and consistently monitored by the departmental heads and ensure the involvement of all the school stakeholders.