Setsembiso Sebunye Background

Promise of Unity

Swaziland is a small country in southern Africa faced with the challenge of finding the material resources to provide its children with a modern, technically skill-based education. There is an urgent requirement for useful occupational training and for supporting adult life-long learning. The Setsembiso Sebunye High is the most recent phase in the development of a K-12 institution whose successful pre-primary and primary schools have been in operation for more than ten years. As a social-economic development project of the Bahá'í community of Swaziland, the high school plans to offer one of the first technologically current training programs in the country.

Unity in diversity is one of the cornerstone principles of this school. It receives partial government funding and admits students of all backgrounds regardless of race, gender, religion, or class.

The Cambridge Examination System and its courses will initially provide the core of the academic program. Computer technology will be used as an instructional tool integrated into the curriculum in a creative manner. Students will develop skills in the use of basic computer hardware and software, communication and information technologies, and various specialized applications in order to increase employment opportunities. Technical and academic training, the study of Swazi culture, and various forms of community service will be required components of the rigorous educational curriculum relevant to the needs of Swaziland's transition into the next century.

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History of the High School

The educational system in Swaziland is in the process of transitioning to offer modern, technically skill-based programs. There is an urgent requirement for establishing institutions which can offer competitive academic training, useful occupational training, character development training, and for supporting adult life-long learning.

In response to this need and building on the success of its preschools and the Bahá'í Primary School, an effort which began ten years ago, the Bahá'í community of Swaziland decided to establish a high school at the Malagwane hill site in Mbabane. Mbabane is the capital of Swaziland, a small cosmopolitan city of about 90,000 inhabitants.

The school, located on the outskirts of the city, has been named "The Setsembiso Sebunye High School." In Siswati, the language of Swaziland, it means "the promise of unity." It opened in January 2000 with a double stream (two sections) with 120 students in Forms One and Two (the 8th and 9th year of school). In subsequent years a minimum of 70 new students would be admitted. A two-story, twelve-room building was completed just before the opening of school. This building contains 7 classrooms, a science lab/classroom, and a modern computer room, a library and administrative/staff room.

Each classroom was equipped with computer capabilities to provide both access to a network in support of the curriculum and the internet. This building is the first of a complex of facilities to serve the needs of a modern high school, eventually having about 400 students.

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A Balanced Approach

The Setsembiso Sebunye High School's program, activities and curriculum aim to promote a balanced approach to transformation and development of human capability—rational, spiritual, emotional, social, material, aesthetic—(Head-Heart and Hand).

The school is affiliated to the Cambridge Examination System – International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE). Its courses provide the core of the academic program. Information or computer based technologies have begun to be introduced. Soon they will be used as instructional tools integrated into the curriculum in as creative a manner as possible.

Students are developing skills in the use of basic computer hardware and software, communication and information technologies. Various specialized applications will be considered, in order to increase employment opportunities.

Five areas of programmatic and curriculum reform are shaping the development of the school. It has been observed that these programmatic and curriculum areas have come to distinguish Bahá'í schools throughout the world. They appear to form a powerfully integrated medium for the education and training of youth and for being of service to the communities in which they are located. They are:

• Developing a broad academic curriculum based on a high standard of excellence.
• Providing an environment conducive to spiritual development and moral and character training to benefit staff and students.
• To foster the development of competencies which assist young women and men to span the chasm between the worlds of the school and the workplace, and to possess effective life skills.
• Promoting Community Service and Service Learning.
• Linking the school and community in an educational partnership.

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Academic Excellence

Developing a broad academic curriculum based on a high standard
of excellence

The process of broadening the curriculum, making it more universal in approach is underway in order that our students become at once good Swazi citizens as well as world citizens. Also, broadening the curriculum helps prepare students to take the IGCSE Cambridge exams.

In addition, an effort is made to inculcate an understanding of the oneness of humankind, awareness of the equality of the sexes, insight into the interdependence of peoples, our interdependence with the planet and its health, the essential role of consultation, respect for the law, knowledge of ourselves as primarily spiritual beings, et cetera.

Both Swazi and international literature are studied. History and social studies include looking at issues from a variety of perspectives, including and African perspective. Unity in diversity, as the foundation principle for social integration of the local, national as well as the world communities, is supported by a school climate, which cultivates the development of tolerance, love, brotherhood, equality, compassion, understanding, sacrifice, humility, and an active commitment to justice. The academic program seeks excellence with as small a class size as is feasible.

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Spiritual Development

Providing an environment conducive to spiritual development and moral and character training to benefit staff and student

The school is devoting time and energy to evolve a total school environment supportive of character training, stirring up the motivation to change and fostering development of moral capabilities. At its heart, the moral development of the individual, which emphasizes virtue as the foundation for actions that foster individual and collective spiritual and material well-being. This process requires that respect be accorded to all cultures, races, religions, ages, and both genders, and for spiritual as well as material needs. An effort is made to provide private space and time so students can reflect and meditate or pray. The human development program is designed to provide students with opportunities to wrestle with moral dilemmas, to develop their social and life skills, and to discuss issues with a skilled mentor and within the context of learning to identify principles upon which to base one's decisions. This training is approached developmentally, with different programs for younger and older students, and increasing opportunities to empower students to develop and express their convictions for the well-being of others.

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Competency Development

To foster the development of competencies which assist young women and men to span the chasm between the worlds of the school and the workplace, and to possess effective life skills (Bridging the gap between theoretical "academic" training and its practical implications).

All high school students must develop competencies and foundation skills if they are to enjoy a productive, full, and satisfying life. Whether they go next to work, apprenticeship, or college, all young students should leave high school with the know-how to make their way in the world. These competencies and skills are a bridge between the traditional academic curriculum and functioning effectively in the world of work, family, and society. Career planning will be encouraged. One way to create this bridge is to develop skills in computer technology. It is used as an instructional tool integrated into the curriculum in a creative, coherent, and consistent manner with computers in most classrooms. Students also develop skills in Communications and Information Technologies, through intensive training with the computer. Basic computing and word processing skills are taught to all students. Opportunities for specialization in computer-based skills are incorporated into the curriculum.

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Community Service

Promoting Community Service and Service Learning

Service is now recognized as a valuable educational medium. Engaging in serving others provides the means for students to realize the most important concept, our common membership in the human family, and connects students to the community. Service also provides for the active expression of knowledge, virtue, skills, devotion, and prayer in action.

Service learning is a structured opportunity to enable students to apply factual knowledge gained in the classroom. Therefore, service learning, the study of Swazi culture, and various forms of community service is a required component of the rigorous educational curriculum to enable students to achieve excellence and a balance between the academic and the practical skills needed to work happily and productively. Students equipped with the attitude of service engage in an academic and vocational program relevant to the needs of Swaziland's transition into the next century.

School and Community

Linking the school and community in an educational partnership

A school exists within a community or communities much as an individual exists within a family. Interaction with the community is an important element in a student's learning. The more dynamic the interaction and exchange of ideas, the more clearly understood the community's needs, understanding the finite nature of its resources, the richer the entire community will be. This school seeks to facilitate life-long learning for adults in the community by making available its facilities for special classes. Students also strive to help identify and respond to needs and interests of the community. The school is redefined to include the community as an extension of the classroom.

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