Zipatso Academy

Zipatso Academy is the school that I am going to teach at. It is partly funded by the foundation “Bildungsprojekte Martin Schaer” and partly from tuitions. In the long term, Zipatso will become completely self-financed (like every good and sustainable project should).

In Malawi, only primary education is free. For secondary education Malawians have to pay a fee that many families can’t afford. At Zipatso Academy, however, excellent students will get a scholarship, so also students from less privileged families can join the school. This helps establishing Zipatso Academy as an elite school: they have some of the best teachers, great equipment and facilities, and some of the best students.

Usually, the student to teacher ratio in Malawi is 80 to 1 (see picture below from a different Malawian school).

At Zipatso there is a limit of 25 students per classroom to ensure an optimal learning climate and enough teacher attention for every student.

The aim of Zipatso Academy is to “to help [students] become self-responsible, well-informed, and independently thinking members of society“. In my opinion, this is what education is all about. A broad knowledge and the ability to think independently and critically are paramount in order to not be susceptible to political propaganda or rumors and superstitions.

Additionally, Zipatso has "an extended syllabus in art, music, and sports." I am very happy to be part of this school for the next couple of months, and hope that I can transmit some of my love for sports to those kids.