SCHOOL
STRUCTURE AND ADMINISTRATION
Banani
International Secondary School is a private, non-profit school
for girls, for Grades 8 through 12, established by the Bahá’i
Community of Zambia and registered with the Ministry of Education.
It is governed by a Board of Directors of the William Mmutle
Masetlha Foundation and administered by the Principal. The Board
of Directors is the sole authority responsible for the financial
planning of the school, setting fees, creating policy, hiring
teachers, and providing the conditions of service for staff.
Parents are also involved in the life of the school through
the School Advisory Council (SAC), which operates under a set
of guidelines accepted at its first Annual General Meeting in
May 1994 and which were approved by the Board of Directors.
The Council’s executive is elected at the Annual General
Meeting of parents. The SAC offers parental feedback to the
Board and the Principal as well as initiating various projects
for the betterment of the school. The Principal and a representative
from the academic and residential sections of the school also
sit on this body.
Academic
The
Vice-Principal oversees matters pertaining to academic policy,
schedules, exams, and teacher supervision. The school is organized
by grades (8-12) with the eventual goal of 2 streams in each
grade and a maximum of 30 students in each class. Teachers are
well qualified in their subject areas and are carefully recruited
from both Zambian and expatriate sources.
Residential
The
Student Affairs Co-ordinator supervises the residential program,
which includes dormitory life, food services, and health services.
There is a matron on duty in each dorm block as well as a qualified
nurse on campus at all times. In food services, a kitchen manager
co-ordinates the kitchen staff, menus and the ordering of food.
The
Youth Facilitator is responsible for the Year of Service program
through which volunteers come from different parts of the world
to offer a year of service to the school by assisting the staff
in many areas such as the office, dorms, library, swimming pool,
and tuck shop.
Family
Groups
The
"family group" is a group of about 12 students from
all grades with a staff facilitator. The group sits together
at lunch every day and also meets occasionally to discuss school-related
issues. The staff facilitator keeps track of each student’s
academic progress, extra-curricular activities, discipline records,
and health problems. Facilitators also fulfill a counseling
role when students are experiencing difficulties in some area
of school life.
