By Emma Kakololo
WINDHOEK
Learners of the first-ever secondary school in Katutura, Immanuel Shifidi, took an oath on Friday to make the school the best performing in the country.
“I shall commit myself to my studies all the time, five days a week so that I can score A-Plus in my examination. So help me God,” the Grade 10 and 12 learners swore before Prime Minister Nahas Angula at the official ceremony to mark the school’s 30th anniversary.
The celebrations also served as a reunion for former students and teachers.
“You have taken that oath, so no more failure at Shifidi,” said Angula.
The school had a Grade 10 pass rate of 40 percent last year.
The Premier said Khomas Region was no longer the best performing region in the country due to the poor performance of the schools situated on the “western part of Independence Avenue”.
“This is what I have discovered, that schools on the eastern part of Independence Avenue are good performers and the ones on the western side are poor performers. Now the regions that are performing better are either Erongo and Oshikoto, despite that Khomas has a lot of private schools and former white schools,” said the former Education Minister and teacher.
“You now have to put yourself on the map as Shifidi, a school carrying the name of a hero,” he challenged the learners.
Previously known as Katutura Secondary school, the school was named after Immanuel Shifidi, one of Namibia’s heroes who spent many years on Robben Island together with other struggle icons like Andimba Toivo ya Toivo and Nelson Madiba Mandela.
It was near the school premises that Shifidi was brutally murdered during the height of the apartheid military madness of former South African military forces.
“I want Shifidi to be the exemplary school to all the schools on the western side of Independence Avenue,” Angula stressed.
And for them to achieve this goal, the Prime Minister said, learners should work hard and concentrate only on their studies and stay away from alcohol and parties.
“Alcohol is the number one satan. It is the enemy of your dream, the enemy of your future,” he said.
He urged: “Focus on your studies, other things can wait. Passing cannot wait, you want to pass once and finish once so that we can close Namcol. If everybody passes there will not be Namcol anymore, so please help us to do that.”
School Founding
Shifidi started in 1977, to accommodate those students who had been expelled from the former White-dominated schools because of their objections to the apartheid system.
“Patriotism brought them here. Here they found sympathetic teachers for their course, all of them without exception,” said Member of Parliament and founding teacher of the school, Elia Kaiyamo.
“Swapo was driven from this school. In the morning, we were at school and in the evening we were carrying AK47,”said the anti-apartheid activist Kaiyamo.
Other teachers who were harassed were Foreign Minister Marco Hausiku and Aaron Kasingo.
“The other teachers may not have been politically involved like me and Marco but they supported us behind close doors and we have been thankful,” said Kaiyamo
The founding teachers include the current school principal, Herta Nashenda, Leony Hoveka, Robert Nghisheva and Immanuel Nambahu.
The man behind the idea to build the school was Martin Shipanga, the former Inspector of Schools, while the former Minister of Education, Andrew Matjila, facilitated the building of the school.
Not only were teachers from the school harassed, detained and tortured, but also student leaders especially in the 1980s, while the Namibian National Students Organisation (Nanso) branch at the school was one of the most active and leading branches in the country that spearheaded major student uprisings in 1988 against the militarisation of education by the South African colonial government.
Some of its graduates are now at the forefront of the country’s socio-economic development initiatives and providing leadership in private, public and civil society.
“The core of the youth league came from this school, Mbapewa, Uhuru Dempers and many others. Nanso fire originally came from here. Late Owen Shamena is a good example,” said Kaiyamo.
He urged ‘Shifidis’ to continue with the spirit of Shifidi and build the school. “Study hard and make Shifidi a proud school.”
On Saturday morning learners staged a Big Walk March through Katutura as an expression of gratitude to the residents for the 30 years of support.
The celebrations were concluded with an Ecumenical Thanksgiving Church Service at the School Hall. A wreath was laid at the late Immanuel Shifidi’s grave before the church service.