St Boniface College

St Boniface College
Location
Map
Kavango East

Namibia
Coordinates17°54′25″S 20°01′59″E / 17.907°S 20.033°E / -17.907; 20.033
Information
DenominationRoman Catholic
Established1995
PrincipalMary Phillis Yesudasan
Enrolment306

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 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, the school had 306 students from grades eight to twelve.[2]

Academic success

In 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

References

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "Parents want more Kavango pupils at St Boniface". The Namibian. 20 September 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  3. ^ "State schools continue to finish last". The Namibian. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  4. ^ a b Immanuel, Shinovene (16 January 2014). "Quality of education slides". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014.
  5. ^ Nakale, Albertina (15 January 2015). "Grade 12 results slightly better … St Boniface College again the shining example". New Era.
  6. ^ Ngutjinazo, Okeri (11 January 2019). "Jakob Marengo SS joins top 10". The Namibian.
  7. ^ Kisting, Denver (28 January 2015). "St Boniface laments mediocrity". The Namibian. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  8. ^ a b Haushona-Kavamba, Faith (23 January 2014). "Life's challenges after St. Boniface". The Observer. Retrieved 25 October 2016.