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 principles of the Baháʼí Faith. It was inaugurated by the William Mmutle Masetlha Foundation[1] under the direction of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of Zambia[2] and named after Hand of the Cause Musa Banani.

Banani International Secondary School
Location
Chisamba

Zambia
Information
TypePrivate, boarding, girls' school
MottoLet your vision be world embracing, rather than confined to your own self.
Established1993
AuthorityZambia Ministry of Education and CIE
Grades8-12
Number of students> 160 pupils
LanguageEnglish
Color(s)Azure, white and black    
AffiliationBaháʼí Faith

Banani International Secondary School was ranked 93rd out of the top 100 best high schools in Africa by Africa Almanac in 2003, based upon quality of education, student engagement, strength and activities of alumni, school profile, internet and news visibility.[3]

School motto

"Let your vision be world embracing, rather than confined to your own self." Baháʼu'lláh (Tablets of Baháʼu'lláh, p. 87)

History

Planning began in 1987 for the school, and construction began in 1990. The school opened with 65 students in 1993. It was inaugurated in 1996 with over 100 students, by the Minister of Education, Hon. A. Hambayi, in conjunction with officers of the Baháʼí International Community like Kiser Barnes, Firaydoun Javaheri and others including supporters from Austria and South Africa.[4]

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.[5]

Facilities

Instructional areas include eight classrooms, a science laboratory, a 30-station computer lab, agricultural areas, and library.[6]

The dormitories hold up to 200 students, with a senior commons (theater and recording studio), play fields, swimming pool, and a campus store. There are facilities for sport.

Programme

Courses offered include:[7]

Most courses come in two forms - "core" for average students, and "supplemental" for advanced students. The school offers Junior youth groups where students are placed into different groups to discuss their lives. Each group is run by an animator 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.[7]

The website African Almanac has reviewed schools in Africa and posted a Top 100 Schools and lists the Banani School as the #93 secondary school for 2003.[8]

There is an annual conference of primary school teachers at the school coordinated by Independent School Association of Zambia (ISAZ)[9]

School culture

Students wear uniforms all week excluding the weekend. They attend Baháʼí devotions every Monday and Friday.[10] The students are mostly Zambian but there are some who live in other countries. The staff varies in nationality and includes Canadians, Zambians, Congolese, Ugandans, and Americans.

References
  1. Two Baháʼí International Community Projects: Cameroon and Zambia Archived 2008-08-21 at the Wayback Machine report submitted by the Baháʼí 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 1990s (UN-NADAF).
  2. The Masetlha Foundation: Health, Literacy, & Education in Zambia 1996-97 edition of The Baháʼí World, pp. 221-226.
  3. "top20highschools". Africa Almanac. Africa Almanac. 1 October 2003. Archived from the original on 14 January 2007. Retrieved 19 June 2016. The research leading up to the publication of the 100 Best High Schools in Africa began with the launching of the website in December 2000.
  4. Banani School Statement on History and Inauguration
  5. Zambia - Banani School
  6. Banani School Statement on Facilities
  7. Banani School Statement on Curriculum
  8. The 100 best high schools in Africa, 2003 Archived 2007-01-14 at the Wayback Machine
  9. "ISAZ Teachers Teachings Teaching Teachers Conference". Archived from the original on 2008-01-15. Retrieved 2008-01-08.
  10. "Character Development Program – BANANI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL". Retrieved 2020-11-08.

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