Banani International Secondary School

Banani International Secondary School is a residential international girls' secondary school (grades 8-12) in Chisamba, Zambia. (The nearest village is Liteta.) It is a non-profit institution and follows the principals of the Bahá'í Faith. It was inaugurated by the William Mmutle Masetlha Foundation [ [http://www.bic-un.bahai.org/96-0430.htm Two Bahá'í International Community Projects: Cameroon and Zambia] report submitted by the Bahá'í International Community Office for the Advancement of Women in April 1996, appears in The Emerging Role of NGOs in African Sustainable Development, published by the United Nations and distributed to participants in the Mid-Term Review of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990's (UN-NADAF).] under the direction of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Zambia [ [http://info.bahai.org/article-1-8-1-23.html The Masetlha Foundation: Health, Literacy, & Education in Zambia] 1996-97 edition of The Bahá'í World, pp. 221-226.] and named after Hand of the Cause Mr. Musa Banani.

History

Planning began in 1987 for the school out of a motivation to redress the disparity between girls and boys in secondary education in Zambia. Construction began in 1990. The school first opened with 65 students in 1993. It was officially inaugurated in 1996 with over 100 students by the Minister of Education, Hon. A. Hambayi, in conjunction with officers of the Bahá’í International Community like Kiser Barnes, Firaydoun Javaheri and others including special supporters from Austria and South Africa. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20070406125035/www.banani.sch.zm/banani.htm Banani School Statement on History and Inauguration] ]

There are efforts to expand student population from the area for "day" students for the secondary, as well as a beginning of a primary school. [ [http://blog.lib.umn.edu/koom0003/volunteer/2007/08/zambia_banani_seecondary_schoo.html Zambia - Banani School] ]

Facilities [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20061206022854/www.banani.sch.zm/facilities.htm Banani School Statement on Facilities] ]

Instructional areas include eight classrooms, a science laboratory, a 30-station computer lab, agricultural areas, and library.

The dormitories hold up to 200 students, with a Senior Commons (theater and recording studio), various play fields, swimming pool, and a campus store. There are also facilities for most types of sports.

Programme

Courses presently offered include: [http://web.archive.org/web/20061004140706/www.banani.sch.zm/academicprogramme.htm Banani School Statement on Curriculum] ]
*Agriculture
*Biology
*Character Development
*Chemistry
*English
*French
*Geography
*History
*Mathematics
*Physics
*World Religions
*Accounts
*Business Studies
*Physical Education
*Computer Studies
*Information TechnologyMost Courses come in two forms - "Core" for average students, and "Supplemental" for advanced students. The school also offers Junior Youth Groups where students are placed into different groups to discuss their lives. Its one way to get to know each other. Each group is run by an annimator who is a girl in senior grades and the other members are junior girls.

Accreditation and Awards

The Zambian Ministry of Education syllabus is used for Grades 8 and 9 who then write the Junior Secondary School Leaving Exams at the end of Grade 9. Grade 10 is a preparatory year and introduction to the Grade 11-12 University of Cambridge syllabus which provides students with an International General Certificate of Secondary Education or the more advanced Cambridge IT Skills Diploma.

The website African Almanac has reviewed schools in Africa and posted it's "top 100 schools" and lists the Banani School as the #93 secondary school for 2003. [ [http://www.africaalmanac.com/top20highschools.html#100 The 100 best high schools in Africa, 2003] ]

There is an annual conference of primary school teachers at the school coordinated by Independent School Association of Zambia (ISAZ) [ [http://rhodesparkschool.net/data/content/view/65/78/ ISAZ Teachers Teachings Teaching Teachers Conference] ]

chool Culture

Students wear uniforms all week excluding the weekend. They attend devotion every Sunday where all holy writings are manifested by different people.The students are mostly Zambian but there are some who live in other countries. The staff varies in nationalities with Canadians, Zambians, Congolese, Ugandans, Americans and the like. All teachers are well qualified.

References

External links

* [http://www.bananischool.org Official School webpage]