The Aga Khan Approach
The Aga Khan Schools strive to create a harmonious
balance between academic demands, sporting
and cultural activities and community life.
It challenges its pupils to be intellectually
inquisitive and socially conscious. The School
believes that while what students know is important,
the true measure of a student’s education
is
to explore the limitations of their knowledge.
Developing critical thinking and analysis is
therefore at the core of the School’s mission. The
School also encourages students to respect and
appreciate other people’s cultures, social
structures, values and beliefs. Taken together,
these objectives are designed to help equip children
with the tools they will need to make their way
in school, society and an increasingly interdependent
world.
School History
Established in 1967, as a co-educational
institution, the Aga Khan Mzizima Secondary
School is one of Tanzania's leading non-government
schools. The Aga Khan Mzizima Secondary School
motto is "Better Always Better".
The School is part of the Aga Khan Education
Services (AKES). AKES has a long tradition of
leadership in educational development. The foundations
of the present system were laid by Sir Sultan
Mahomed Shah, Aga Khan III, under whose guidance
over 200 schools were established during the
first half of the 20th century, the earliest
of them in 1905 in Zanzibar, Gwadur in Pakistan
and Mundra in India. Since the creation of Aga
Khan Education Service companies in the 1970s,
the schools have been centrally administered
and managed.
AKES currently operates more than 300 schools
and advanced educational programmes that provide
quality pre-school, primary, secondary and higher
secondary education services to more than 54,000
students in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Kenya,
Kyrgyz Republic, Uganda, Tanzania and Tajikistan.
Schools are also envisaged, or under development,
in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique and Syria.
In the last 36 years, the School has undergone
three major changes. The first came in 1980, when
Mzizima introduced a six-week orientation course
for Form I students. This initiative assisted
students who could not cope with the change from
the Kiswahili primary level instruction to English-based
instruction in secondary school.
Students were taught sufficient language skills
to help them better grasp English-medium classes
during the orientation course. Other subjects
were also taught in English at a level accessible
to students.
After 1980, Mzizima introduced student-centred
education (then a novel idea in Tanzania). Before
this change, teaching at the School was passive,
with the teacher lecturing the class and providing
notes. In today’s curriculum, class discussions
and projects are of equal importance to tests
and exams.
As a result of these changes and a rise in academic
rigour, the School began to receive more prospective
students than it could accommodate. In 1990,
a merit-based entry system was introduced. Prospective
Form I students were admitted based on their
performance at an entrance test.
Over time, the School’s existing A-level
streams - PCM (Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics)
and PCB (Physics, Chemistry and Biology) no longer
fully catered to the academic interests and needs
of all students. This prompted the School to
introduce the ECA (Economics, Commerce and Accountancy)
stream in 1995. Today, the School offers the
PCM, PCB and ECA combinations at Advanced Level.
In line with the commitment to
provide educational leadership in Tanzania ,
in 2005, the centenary of Aga Khan schooling
worldwide, parents were offered an alternative
to the national curriculum for their children.
This new program has introduced the British-based
IGCSE and an application to the International
Baccalaureate Organization for accreditation
to the Diploma Program to allow students to
graduate with an internationally recognized
qualification. The culmination of this initiative
will be the opening of a purpose built facility
near the University of Dar es Salaam. The foundation
stone for this state-of-the-art school was laid
by His Excellency the President of Tanzania
Benjamin William Mkapa in the presence of His
Highness the Aga Khan.
| Headmaster Roll
|
Tenure |
|
| Ms S Datoo |
1967 - 1976 |
|
| Mr M.K. Dalvi |
1977 - 1981 |
|
| Mr S. Juma |
1981 - 1983 |
|
| Mr. V. R. Acharya |
1984 |
|
| Mr. C. Jesson |
1985 |
|
| Mr V.R. Acharya |
1985 - 1987 |
|
| Mr A.S. Thind |
1988 - 2001 |
|
| Mr T. D’Souza |
2001 - present |
|
School population
The School has a population of 725
students. There are 365 students studying for ‘O
levels (Forms I - IV) and 160 for the ‘A’ Levels
(Forms V - VI). 200 students are studying in
the new curriculum section leading on to the
IGCSE exams at Grade 11. 45% of the student population
is female.
English is the medium of instruction and the
School offers the Tanzanian National Curriculum
at both the ‘O’ and ‘A’ Levels.
The Head of School has a team 5 Mentor teachers, 50 teachers, 13 administrative
and 15 support staff to effectively facilitate the teaching - learning process.
Parent Teacher Meetings
Open Days serve as an occasion for parents and
teachers to interact and complete the triangle
of the three important stakeholders in any school;
teachers, parents and students.
Every term, the School organises an Open Day
for each level. Subject teachers spend two to
three hours with parents discussing their child’s
academic progress, attendance, discipline and
school participation. The Head of School also
addresses queries from parents, seeks feedback,
solicits parental involvement in various activities
and updates them of various curricular and co-curricular
developments and achievements.
The School also organises an orientation programme
for new Grade 8 students. It serves
as an induction for parents and students to the
school ethos, tradition, culture, facilities
and its staff. We encourage parents to be involved
in the social and emotional development of their
child. Our focus lies in developing parents
as critical partners, actively contributing
to the effective functioning of the School.
