BACKGROUND
Maranatha Primary School is one of five schools run by Mr Theophilus Jumu, located at Pipe Line, Regent Road, Hill Station. It currently holds 560 students and has 11 classes in 4 classrooms. Maranatha is the only local primary school servicing this area, with the next local school about 3 miles away in the village of Regent. Mr Theophilus currently bears the burden of all the school running costs and has done so since the school opened in 2003. The children currently pay a one off registration fee of 10,000 Leones plus a yearly school fee of 10,000 Leones (10,000 Leones = £1.40).
Started in 2003 with 60 children and 3 teachers, Maranatha Primary school was opened to help the locals and to try to educate the children who were victims of war. Being the only local school in the area, the school increases every year by around 100 children. Now in 2011, the school has a total of 560 students (276 boys & 284 girls) with 12 teachers.
CURRENT STATUS
In addition to the 560 student in the primary school, Maranatha has started a new secondary school in this current school year, which is in the same premises at the primary school. With only 15 students, the secondary school starts at 1pm each day, immediately after the primary section finishes.
OTHER FACTS:
Maranatha Primary School has 6 classes, but each class is divided into two: Class A and Class B. This is to help reduce the number of children in each class to a more manageable amount. This also allows the teachers to be able control the students and teach them more effectively.
| Class | Boys and Girls |
|---|---|
| Number of Students | 560 |
| Number of Classes | 6 |
| Number of Teachers | 11 |
| Number of Head Teachers | 1 |
EXAM RESULTS SO FAR:
In 2006, Maranatha Primary School started participating in the MPSE exams, a national exam taken by all students in their final year of Primary education. Marks gained in this exam will determine which Secondary school they can attend in the following school year.
| Year | No. of Students from Maranatha | Pass Mark from Maranatha | No. of Students from Maranatha | National Average Mark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highest | Failed | |||
| 2006 | 5 | 315 | 0 | 230 |
| 2007 | 10 | 305 | 1 | 230 |
| 2008 | 27 | 298 | 5 | 230 |
| 2009 | 37 | 311 | 4 | 230 |
| 2010 | 45 | 307 | 2 | 230 |
2011 Exams where being taken on Saturday 7th May 2011
WHAT MARANATHA PRIMARY SCHOOL NEEDS?
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
- Currently the school building is made of tin (Sierra Leoneans refers to it as pan bodi). This gets very hot inside during the day as the outside temperature increases, plus the classrooms are overcrowded with an average of 93 children in a class.
- The government has given them land to build on but they do not have the finances to do so.
- Stationery for the school, e.g. chalk, blackboard dusters
- Stationery for the children