H.R.Daniel Private School

The 1999-2000 school year marked the founding of "H.R. Daniel" school, dedicated to teaching and education. Four siblings from the Rakotondranja family — Daniel, Mino, Solo and Stela — were behind the creation of the school.

Today the school is based in Ambohipanja Ankadikely Ilafy, with classes ranging from kindergarten all the way through to the final year of secondary school. What sets H.R. Daniel apart is its "extracurricular" programme, a space where students design and build their own equipment for physics, chemistry, computer science and electrical studies — including programming activities.

The school's educators emphasize that this extracurricular programme does not duplicate the official curriculum; rather, it makes teaching easier thanks to the facilities and equipment available on site, all designed by the teachers themselves. Scientific subjects, which many students find intimidating, become more approachable and more enjoyable as a result. To strengthen students' command of French, some are also sent to the French Cultural Centre "AFT" in Andavamamba.

The entire teaching staff, trained at higher education institutes for teacher training, provides the school's educational supervision. There is close collaboration between the roughly twenty educators and the students' parents, formalised through a signed agreement committing parents to follow their children's academic progress. The spiritual dimension is not neglected either: a time of prayer is held on the first Friday of every month. H.R. Daniel school ranked first within the Ankadikely West school district (ZAP) for BEPC exam results.

During our conversations, the school's leadership stressed the concerning state of teaching and education in Madagascar, which in their view calls for a collective sense of responsibility to restore it to the place it deserves. The quality of teaching and education remains a key pillar for strengthening the nation in every respect — a stake that, unfortunately, current authorities do not seem to value as they should.