SCHOOL NAME: Tsinseta-Mariam Senior Secondary School - Adigrat

DISTRICT:

YEAR OF ESTABLISHMENT: 1844 G.C. (1837 E.C.)

BENEFICIARIES: over 100,000 directly or indirectly, living in Adigrat and its large surrounding districts.

Education is taken by the Catholic Church as an essential social service to overcome the various challenges of development which the people face.

Tsinseta-Mariam Senior Secondary School ("Immaculate Conception") is located in a fast growing town of Adigrat and was established in 1837 E.C. (1844 G.C.) by St.Justin de Jacobis - the founder of Catholic Church in this region, and has been rendering modern education to residents of this town area and distant places. The curriculum included Geez, Amharic, Primary Science, Geography, and Mathematics, Latin, French, Philosophy and Theology were taught in higher levels. Both Tsinseta and Lidetamariam schools have been long serving schools since in 1850, Dej.Wubie native of northern Gonder and then governor of Tigray legally recognized it.

Apart from academic education it has been the formation centre, i.e. it has been rendering seminary formation service for the clergy of the Eparchy of Adigrat as well as to other ecclesiastical jurisdictions of Ethiopia. It almost always has come repeatedly top in the academic ranking of the schools.

Now with the request of the local town population to extend its service to larger number of beneficiaries, we have built the school in a new site in the town, already in a remarkably successful operation of rendering the pre-university level education.

The total capacity of the school is for 1,300 pupils, but at the moment since the school in its present location is rather new and the library facility has still to be expanded, there are about 823 pupils enrolled. It is a formidable mix or combination of students: Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim, and Protestants, with no distinction of gender or profession of faith. The ethics classes are given to all in the school and the parents and students love it. Both discipline and educational quality are assured.

While those students who can afford are asked to pay the fee of about $ 10 per month, the Catholic Diocese sponsors the fees for about 200 very poor or orphan students.

Although the general plan is that the school will be self-sustaining through fees of the students, the predominant poverty obliges us to sponsor a large number of poor/orphan students. This is why the school running is STILL HEAVILY SUBSIDIZED and makes it difficult on the diocese to get fund for it.

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