Kindergarten graduates in Malawi face the future with confidence

Graduating from one educational phase to another is always an important stage in life, and it is no less so for the young students who graduated from the SOS Kindergarten in Lilongwe at the end of 2008.

The young scholars, most of whom were five years old, took the opportunity to look to the future with confidence. In front of an audience of parents, children took the lead and performed a nativity play.

The play was conducted in English, the language spoken by most of the children attending the kindergarten in Lilongwe, and they were reminded to speak loudly and clearly.

Suitably dressed, the youngsters took on the traditional roles of Mary, Joseph, the wise men, the shepherds, the angels, and even baby Jesus himself.

Various emotions could be seen on the young actor's face - pride, confidence, bashfulness; along with certain pensiveness about what the future might hold.

Fifty-six children moved on to primary school, and this year all of them moved to the SOS Children's Villages School Primary School, which is just across the road from the kindergarten. SOS Children's Villages School in Lilongwe is considered to be one of, if not the best, primary schools. The entry class is divided into two groups: the more academically minded in one group and the more practically minded in the other. However, as a child progresses through school, they may be moved from one group to another depending on their needs.

To graduate, each child is assessed by a group of teachers to ensure they have met the relevant milestones and are ready to take on the challenges of primary education. The group includes a teacher who is specially trained to identify special needs. Should any child need remedial education, this is routinely identified at this point, and special arrangements can be made to ensure that the rest of the child's education is not compromised.

The SOS Children's Villages Primary School has facilities for various special needs teachers and appropriate support for children who simply require a little more time to grasp concepts, as well as those with physical challenges such as limited sight or hearing. At the moment, approximately ten per cent of the school's enrolments attend some form of special education class at least once a week.

According to Annie Kaitano, the kindergarten principal, "parents commend the atmosphere at the kindergarten for being warm and encouraging. They invited the educators to keep this up for the new children entering the kindergarten so that they will also do as well as the outgoing graduates. After the event, many of the parents told me that they thought our school was one of the best in Lilongwe!"