The series was set in a fictional school, Supatsela High, in a township of Johannesburg.
In the first series, the school's dictatorial principal, Mr. Mthembu, is forced to leave after beating a pupil.
[2] Yizo Yizo was commissioned by the South African Department of Education to address problems in township schools as part of a campaign called Culture of Learning, Teaching and Service (COLTS).
The series aimed to provide positive role models and depict the process of restoring a typical urban school in a South African township.
[13] The Department worked with the education division of the South African Broadcasting Corporation to develop storylines, then commissioned Laduma Film Factory (later renamed Bomb Productions) to produce the series.