Please allow me space in your newspaper to say a few words on Immanuel Shifidi Secondary School in Katutura and its teachers of the early eighties.
A few weeks ago, I read with interest a concise article in a daily newspaper profiling Immanuel Shifidi Secondary School, coincidentally headed by a great friend of mine, Meester Herman Ngaaruhe Katjiuongua, as principal.
This school was known as Katutura Secondary School up to 1986 when the name was aptly changed to Immanuel Shifidi Secondary School in honour of the struggle icon that died on its sports field in November 1986, at the hands of the South-African army.
It was with pride and fond memories that I read about the school as a former student and I was glad that the school is doing relatively well. Allow me to briefly take the reader down memory lane about this proud, distinguished academic and cultural institution.
I registered for Standard 8 (Grade 10 nowadays) at this school in January 1981. Little did we know that we would become part of history and our names would be forever immortalised, because in 1982 and 1983 we became the first Standard 9’s (Grade 11) and Standard 10’s (Grade 12) respectively.
In terms of educational provision that would refocus all of us at the school to the circumstances and demands of the time (political) prevailing in the country at the time, Katutura Secondary School had few equals!
In this respect the school had an excellent mixture of teachers – academically outstanding, politically astute and fearless, managerially sound and sportingly excellent. The mix of teachers had one thing in common: to provide us with a balanced and alternative approach to life, despite all odds against them.
These teachers were despised, arrested and harassed by the powers that be! Teachers were arrested in front of us, while teaching and brought back a day later with swollen lips and bruises of all kinds, because of the beatings they endured. Despite all this, they were all loved and admired by all of us and the majority of the masses in Katutura.
Without singling out any of these great educators, who did duty between the years 1981-1983, I must say only truly worthy teachers, who rose above and excelled in their endeavours to impart knowledge, ethical behaviour and above all, a principled stance whenever you are faced with adversity of any kind, are deserving of being called teachers.
The teaching staff of Katutura Secondary School of 1981-1983, according to me is up there amongst the very best!
Their modus operandi was to set up a vision, and then to keep controls to a minimum, setting us free to try to achieve our potential. It’s one of the few schools that welcomed our own innovative ideas, while at the same time demanding from us high work ethics and standards.
By getting rid of the red tape, by trusting us, our teachers of the time built up good contacts and good relations between them and us that remain up to this day.
Given their extraordinary success story of molding us, to me the most impressive aspect of our teachers at Katutura Secondary School, was their humility, courteousness and unassuming nature that made many of us feel at home at this school. They only wanted the best for us.
A school must also be prepared to invest in those things that money cannot buy, but that will improve the quality of life for its entire people. Those things that reflect civic or national pride, which in turn will be reflected in a confident and better social life for all of society. Again in this aspect Katutura Secondary School stood out.
These virtues and many more were taught to us by our teachers at Katutura Secondary School long before Independence. They passionately believed in us and our generation – I am sure – will forever remain hugely indebted to these teachers.
Pecka Semba