ABOUT US

Minaki History.

Minaki is in the eastern fringes of the Pugu Hills Forest Reserve,rich with a type of trees locally kwonwn as “Mnaki” .It is a very hard wood used as building poles .Because the trees were then found in greater concentrations in this area so the local people called this area “Minaki” so is the origin of the name.

Until the end of the first word war a German settler occupied the present school area where he had a one square garden cum orchard, producing a variety of vegetables and fruits for the Dar es Salaam European population. When Germans lost the war and the colony to the British, the German farmer left and the shamba was sold to Anglican Missionaries ,until then based in Zanzibar at a price of 1500 British pounds.

Since 1869 the Anglican Missionaries established St. Andrew’s College at Kiungani, Zanzibar for the main purpose of getting Christian converts by 1920 they had failed completely. The church had failed in getting converts and students to join their school.When the first world war broke out in 1914 there were a total of 80 students  at kiungani of which 9 were came from Zanzibar and 71 from Mainland. The war broke during the holiday so all 71 students fro the main land failed to return to school so only 9 student were remains. This failure forced the missionaries to consider closing the school in Zanzibar and move it to the mainland where most students come from. However after the some student were join about 106 and move to Minaki from Kiungani with several English and African Teachers, Headed by the Principal, Reverend R.M. Gibbons .

Official opening of school was conducted by the colonial governor, Sir Dolnald Cameron on 5^th December 1925.

Until 1970 when the school was taken over by the government it was called St.Andrew’s  College Minaki .It was called a college rather than a school because it had several schools within it.

1.      When the college moved to Minaki in 1925 ,it had three instutions;

a.       The middle or central school or central school.

b.      The teachers college and

c.       The seminary.

2.      In 1927 a primary school was opened .

3.      In 1931 a hospital was opened.

4.      In 1935 a junior secondary school (STD IX –X) was opened.

5.      In 1936 a medical school was opened.

6.      In 1946 a theological College was opened.

So at zenith Minaki had six institutions .But beginning from the 1950s government demanded the dismantling of this complicated structure of Minaki .So korogwe Teachers college was built to take Minaki teacher trainees so the T.T.C moved to korogwe in 1960.

In 1959 the middle school was closed and 1961 the hospital and medical school were also closed .By 1963 only the secondary school remained.

Minaki was one of three oldest secondary schools in Tanganyika after Tabora government school and St.Marys secondary education,Tabora.Secondary education started in 1935 and std XI and XII was introduced in the 1940’s.

  In 1947 the Cambridge std XII  exam was done. In 1956 a second stream opened for std IX and in 1959 advanced level i.e XIII studies were begun at MINAKI with only two streams one for PCB and the other HGE.

In 1970 the school was taken over by the government from the Anglican Missionaries.

In 1978 Minaki began to take day scholars among were girls thus making the school a co-educational institution. In 1998 PCM and EGM combinations had two streams each. Since then the A level streams have been increasing while those of lower secondary education are decreasing.

Future projection indicate the expansion of A level streams and the reduction of  ‘O’ level streams .As o level streams decease the number of day students is correspondingly decreasing too. Expansion in school roll has also called for the expansion of the staff. Presently we have more than 40 teachers and 800 students.

Currently Minaki is the boy's school owned by the government of Tanzania under Ministry Of Education and Vocational Training with  7 combination of A LEVEL students only.

More history of Minaki secondary school can be found in the book of 'The story of Minaki 'by Libaba,printed by Imberhorne school,East Grinstead,UK,Second Edition 2005.
Minaki History by picture

Mwalimu J. Nyerere opened the new science laboratory in the early 1960’s.