St Boniface College is a private secondary school in the Kavango East Region of Namibia, situated 30 kilometres (19 miles) east of the regional capital, Rundu.[1] It is a Roman Catholic Church boarding school.[1]
| St Boniface College | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 17°54′25″S 20°01′59″E / 17.907°S 20.033°E |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Established | 1995 |
| Principal | Mary Phillis Yesudasan |
| Enrolment | 306 |
St Boniface was founded in 1995 and named in honour of Bonifatius Hausiku, the first Namibian Catholic bishop in Namibia; he later became an archbishop.[1] St Boniface College is the top performing school in Namibia.
As of 2016[update], the school had 306 students from grades eight to twelve.[2]
Academic success
editIn recent years, St Boniface has been the top-performing school in the country.[3] St Boniface students have made up the majority of the ten best performing grade 12 students in the country: nine of the top ten in 2010, five in 2011, seven in 2012,[1] and eight each in 2013,[4] 2014,[5] and 2018.[6]
The success of the school is attributed to its principal, Mary Phillis Yesudasan, who has been described as "very strict, combined with a military leadership style."[1] She emphasises commitment from both teachers and students. Teachers at St Boniface regularly work until 10:30pm.[4] Long hair and romantic relationships are banned among students, and mobile phones are forbidden for students and teachers alike.[1]
All the teachers in the school are from other countries, such as Kenya, Zimbabwe or India: according to Yesudasan, "no Namibian teacher has proven competent enough to comply with the stringent expectations she fosters."[7]
In order to maintain high academic standards, students who fail a grade are not allowed back to the school.[8]
Not all alumni of St Boniface College have had success at university, and the school has been criticised for not preparing students for the self-study necessary at tertiary level.[8]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Shinovene, Immanuel (18 January 2013). "St Boniface: The Story Behind the Success". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013.
- ^ "Parents want more Kavango pupils at St Boniface". The Namibian. 20 September 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ^ "State schools continue to finish last". The Namibian. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ^ a b Immanuel, Shinovene (16 January 2014). "Quality of education slides". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014.
- ^ Nakale, Albertina (15 January 2015). "Grade 12 results slightly better … St Boniface College again the shining example". New Era.
- ^ Ngutjinazo, Okeri (11 January 2019). "Jakob Marengo SS joins top 10". The Namibian.
- ^ Kisting, Denver (28 January 2015). "St Boniface laments mediocrity". The Namibian. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ^ a b Haushona-Kavamba, Faith (23 January 2014). "Life's challenges after St. Boniface". The Observer. Retrieved 25 October 2016.