• Education

Pasch welcomes Etosha

Michelline Nawatises





Etosha Secondary School (ESS) has been chosen to be a Schools: Partners for the Future (PASCH) because of its dedication and excellence in teaching German as a foreign language for many years.

The Goethe-Institut Namibia and the Germany embassy officially welcomed the Etosha Secondary School in Tsumeb to the initiative on 20 February.

PASCH is about building the schools of the future and for educational institutions to meet the government halfway in producing an educated and skilled workforce for the development of Namibia.

PASCH schools encourage learners to study well and build good communication skills for their future, while underlining the role of German as a language in science and culture. The programme has a lot of advantages as not only learners benefit but teachers as well. The teachers receive teaching material as well as training in Namibia and in Germany.

The deputy head of missions at the German embassy, Ellen Golz, stressed the importance of the language.

“Today around 600 000 learners all over the world are attending one of the more than 2 000 PASCH schools. We are keen to encourage invest in contemporary Germany and the German language,” she said.

Deputy executive director for formal education, Charles Kabajani, delivered a speech on behalf of education minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa.

“This particular selection makes ESS function and operate to promote intercultural interactions and the development of an international learning community for schools,” she said.

Four learners were chosen to attend academic camps in Ghana and Germany after they won prizes.

They are the winners of a competition in which learners were challenged to produce a collage reflecting the topic ‘What I want to change in the future’.

Cezaan Arnold, a grade 11 learner, was ecstatic.

“I couldn’t believe when my name was called, I am grateful and looking forward to visiting Ghana,” she said.