To become an inclusive, learner centred educational institution with facilities which socio-economically and technologically empower students and encourages them to pursue their chosen pathways, interests and aspirations.
To offer quality relevant and inclusive education; impart knowledge, skills and values on students in line with contemporary socio-economic and technological development and produce morally reliable citizen with Christian ethics.
Bishop Mtekateka Secondary School is one of the two schools under the Anglican Diocese of Lake Malawi offering secondary school education. It is located on the eastern branch off M5 road from Nkhotakota Boma crossroads along the road to St. Anne’s hospital at Nkhotakota Lay Training Centre campus.
The school first opened its doors on 16th April, 2007, as a brain child of the Board of Management of Nkhotakota Lay Training center. Initially, the school was named Nkhotakota Lay secondary school and later changed to Bishop Mtekateka as a posthumous recognition of the first black bishop, Josiah Mtekateka, in the Anglican Church. However, the idea to establish the school was hatched to fulfill three aims: To offer quality secondary school education to the people in Nkhotakota and the surrounding Districts, Educate morally upright young citizens through Christian values and Act as an income generating activity in order to financially support the church in the propagation of the gospel.
The board chairman, Reverend Francis Kaulanda, who is currently the Diocese's bishop, demonstrated resilience, tenacity, and focus. Center Executive Director Rev. Canon Emmanuel Makalande, the administrative assistant, the late Gloria Annie Jumali contributed to the institution's current appearance. Following Rev. Canon Makalande was Rev. Canon Takilima, who established guidelines for the efficient operation of the school and oversaw a number of developments. Following his transfer to Lilongwe, Mr. Jesman Seva has been the school's director since 2013. The following five educators must be acknowledged when discussing the history of the school: Mr. J. Katuwa, the first deputy head teacher; Mr. A. Chilala, the former head of the language department, Mr. Matuwamba, Mr. Kalukusha, Mr. Mwamadi, and Mr. Nelson Banda, who gave selflessly and fervently of themselves to establish the solid foundations that the school stands upon today.
It was a scaring start since on the opening day only one student showed up for registration that is James Omex Zimba but this did not stop the management and teaching staff from striving forward. With minimal students’ enrollment, it was apparent that sustaining teaching staff would be somewhat a challenge. In response to this, the Lay Training Centre Treasury brought the school to life by taking the burden of meeting teachers’ remunerations. Although at first the students’ enrolment was not very encouraging, a positive change occurred the following year 2008-the year the school first administered National Examinations for both Junior Certificate of Education (JCE) and Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE).
The community around could not help but laugh at the comedy since the institution did not have enough structures to accommodate the growing number of students. At that moment, there was only one classroom block which was at first used by a defunct commercial school. This block could not accommodate all the forms since it had two classroom compartments. As an alternative, the administration could not do otherwise but utilize small store room on the Library building for a form four classroom.
The arrival of the Malawi Association for Christian Support (MACS) through Eileen Eggington obviously brought relief and hope to the school. MACS, which realized that infrastructure development was necessary and that it was more urgent in 2009, donated a classroom block. The success of building this classroom impressed MACS, so much so that in 2010 they decided to support the school by constructing another classroom block. Another contribution from MACS led to the building of an amazing school science laboratory. The construction of the laboratory had a significant impact on student performance on national exams, as evidenced by the 11 students from the school who achieved one of the best results in 2013 and were accepted into various public universities. Not only did MACS fund the construction of the school's water point, but it went one step further when Rodger Silvester provided funding for the amazing solar-powered pump and water tanks that supply students, staff, and the surrounding communities with safe drinking water on a continuous basis. Later, in 2015, the Johanes Beese foundation provided funding for the building of a magnificent Beese hostel, further supporting the school. The community took an active part in all of these developments rather than being passive due to the involvement of the Parent Teachers Association (PTA).
Overall, the progress of Bishop Mtekateka has been attributable to the school's impressive performance and strong staff continuity. A majority of the staff members have remained dedicated to the institution for the past decade. Notably, individuals like Mr Jesman Seva, Mr Jephnar Katuwa, Mr Stanford Phiri, Mr Manly Mkonda, Mr Chitsanzo Damazio, Mr Chawanangwa Msiska, Mr Tendai Msini, and Mr Kennedy Changata have persevered through various challenges, contributing significantly to the current state of the institution.