Swakop private school joins worldwide PASCH community for elevated German instruction
The Private School Swakopmund, chosen this year as the venue to celebrate German Language Day, got much more than what they bargained for. At the same event last Friday, the German Embassy announced the school has received accreditation as a so-called PASCH school, becoming an educational institution now officially supported by the powerful international German organisation, the Goethe Institut.
The official agreement of cooperation was signed on Friday morning before the activities continued to mark German Language Day. The Private School Swakopmund is now one of 2000 PASCH schools worldwide. In Namibia it has just joined the ranks of German schools Namib High, also in Swakop, and Delta and HPS in Windhoek. Other PASCH schools are Windhoek High, Martin Luther High in Okombahe and Otjiwarongo Secondary.
Director of the Goethe Institut, Daniel Stoevesandt said “It is a great achievement to mark the German Language Day 2018 with the official accreditation of a local school and have it become part of an international network.” PASCH is a worldwide programme for the development and advancement of German language education at distinguished schools.
German Ambassador, HE Christian Schlaga said “PASCH accreditation and the German Language Day are pivotal in maintaining the close relationship through cultural and language cooperation that sends many Namibians to study in Germany and opens doors for opportunities in study and career,”
PASCH accreditation must be earned. It is accomplished when a school has a proven, excellent standard of teaching the German language. Once a school is accredited, it receives substantial support to upgrade and improve its German teaching capability. This includes scholarships for teachers to German universities.
Private School Swakopmund Director, Mr Hein Daiber compared their school’s progress to the proverbial mustard seed saying their PASCH accreditation is the fruitful result of an investment made twenty years ago. “This status must however not only benefit the eco-system of our own educational tree but places an obligation on us to support other schools teaching the German language in our vicinity,” he said.
Caption: Front row from the left, Erongo Regional Governor, Hon Cleophas Mutjavikua, Swakopmund Deputy Mayor, Maria Elago and Private School Swakopmund Director, Hein Daiber, appreciating a performance by the Martin Luther High School choir. (Photograph by the German Embassy)
