THE sod was turned earlier this month for the construction of Maseru Private Academy – which is scheduled to be officially opened in January 2018.
The academy will offer courses in the Lesotho General Certificate of Secondary Education (LGCSE), from nursery, primary school (Grade 1 to Grade 7), secondary school (Grade 8 to Grade 12).
It will be the first school to also offer the Cambridge International Curriculum, International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) Grades 8, 9 and Grade 10, Advanced Subsidiary Levels (AS Levels) AS1 – Grade 11 and AS2 – Grade 12.
The premise of offering the Cambridge Curriculum is to enable the students to gain direct admission into South Africa’s top universities without having to write bridging examinations.
Maseru Private Academy is the fourth school owned by the Free State Academy Group which founded the Ladybrand Academy in 2004, Kroonstad in 2009 and Bloemfontein in 2012.
In an interview with Sunday Express reporter Limpho Sello, the academy’s Principal-in-waiting, Karl Frizt Crous speaks on the importance of the dual educational curriculum for local students among other issues.
SE: Why is a dual educational curriculum important?
Crous: It is very important because it allows learners to choose which curriculum they want without having to go to a different school to seek either of them. First of all, by dual curriculum we mean the national curriculum and the international Cambridge curriculum.
At the Ladybrand Academy, we offer a dual curriculum as well. From my experience, the International Cambridge curriculum is more advanced than the South African curriculum.
However, I have also realised that the Cambridge curriculum cannot be for everyone since it is more challenging especially for slow learners.
That is the reason we introduced the national curriculums to accommodate all learners.
SE: How are you going to implement the dual curriculum?
Crous: We are going to have two separate classrooms from grade 8, with one accommodating the national curriculum students and the other the Cambridge curriculum. Parents will then have to make a choice for their children. We will conduct interviews with students before they are admitted and then advise them accordingly.
SE: What new aspects are you bringing to Lesotho’s educational system?
Crous: The first thing we are bringing to Basotho is quality education, although I am not saying there is no quality education. We want to enrich the community with a one-stop centre with uniform and music shops.
Our intention is also to give students an opportunity to participate in international sporting activities. We want them to explore and learn beyond the classroom. If you look at the African continent, the focus is usually on Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa and Nigeria but we rarely hear about Lesotho. So we want to make this beautiful country more competitive with the rest of the world in terms of quality education.
SE: Are there any job opportunities for Basotho at your school?
Crous: Definitely! Jobs are already being provided for Basotho in the construction of the school and more jobs will be provided upon its opening. We are going to advertise vacancies so that people can apply.
Also, given the fact that we are going to be admitting 2 500 students, there will be a need for more teachers and this means local people will then apply and if they meet the requirements they will have jobs at the school.
SE: What will be your competitive edge over the other schools?
Crous: Let me say that Maseru Private Academy is not in competition with local or private schools in Maseru. Maseru Private Academy will be in competition with itself in terms of ensuring good results at the end of the year. That will be our benchmark for progress.
I must add that in 2018 when we open, we will only admit students from nursery to Grade 9 levels. The reason for that is we want to build up the matric students from there and to move with them until 2021. The first group of matric students will be in 2021.
SE: Why did you choose to build a school in Maseru instead of going to one of the districts?
Crous: When we plan, we have to start somewhere and we are hoping to have five more campuses in Lesotho with time. Maseru is our starting point and it was the easiest to start in the capital city and when it is up and running, maybe after a period of two years, we will go further.