Eine Tasche voll PASCH
10 Years of PASCH in Namibia

10 Years of PASCH in Namibia

The PASCH (Schools: Partners for the Future) is this year celebrating ten years after its launch by President of the Federal Republic of Germany and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Frank-Walter Steinmeier in 2008. The initiative that promotes and supports the teaching of German as Foreign Language at over 2000 schools worldwide has been active in Namibia since its launch and will by the end of 2018 have inaugurated 8 schools as PASCH-Schools; three under the auspices of the Central Agency for Schools Abroad (ZfA) in Berlin, Germany and five under the auspices of the Goethe-Institut Namibia. The schools are selected and accredited as per learners’ academic performance in the subject and commitment to teaching the German language.

First to be accredited in Namibia were Martin Luther High School (MLHS) in Okombahe that has been offering the German as a Foreign Language subject for the past 74 years and today offers it to more than 200 learners; Deutsche Höhere Privatschule (DHPS); Delta Secondary School Windhoek (DSSW); and Namib High School (NHS) Swakopmund. Schools’ PASCH accreditation over the years developed to include in Windhoek High School (WHS) in 2014, Otjiwarongo Secondary School in 2017, Private School Swakopmund (PSS) in 2017 and most recently Etosha Secondary School in Tsumeb during 2018.
 
DSSW and NHS stood out to the ZfA and were accredited as PASCH-Schools in recognition of efforts to build strong German language departments. Apart from receiving teacher training and an upgrade to the teaching equipment under the PASCH initiative, the ZfA funded a German language teacher at both schools for three years. This resulted in both schools offering the German Language Diploma (DSD II) that opens doors to studying in Germany.
  In celebration of the last ten years and achievements, the PASCH-Schools network across Sub Sharan Africa had a competition, “Eine Tasche Voll PASCH” in which learners designed the artwork of a bag and stood the chance to win various prizes. They Jury meet on the 29th of May 2018 at the Goethe-Institut in Windhoek to choose the winners among more than 15 countries from Sub Sahara Africa.
  Carine Lailley Konan, 15, from Côte d'Ivoire won the competition. Learners had to produce a design that reflected the answers to various questions such as what PASCH means to them and how learning the German language connects people in their communities. Once production in Germany is complete, the PASCH bag will be distributed to accredited schools across Africa.