AKA Maputo take part in energy use awareness initiative | Aga Khan Academies

AKA Maputo take part in energy use awareness initiative

04 January 2019















Grade 6 students at the Aga Khan Academy Maputo recently participated in an energy use awareness initiative, as part of the current Science unit on Energy. It was an exciting learning opportunity for students, both within and beyond the classroom, to evaluate not only how much electrical energy they currently use in their household, but also identify how they might reduce their use of electrical energy in the future.

The aim of the challenge was to find out how much they were able to reduce the household’s electrical energy without compromising the family’s lifestyle.

The household were expected to participate by: 

  1. Noting how much electrical energy your household has used throughout October
  2. Taking notice of the energy-saving advice that you receive from your child, such as turning off lights in empty rooms
  3. Keeping a record of how much energy is used throughout November
  4. Share the records of how much energy is used in October and November with your child so s/he is able to use it to reflect on how much electrical energy was being wasted before their intervention.


This reflective task allowed students to apply their knowledge and understanding to real-world contexts, as well as providing a starting point for a discussion in which they shared their concerns about energy wastage with others.

After a month of students’ participation on energy use awareness, parents shared positive feedback on how much their household energy usage was reduced.

One of the parents is shared their suggestion of using energy saving LED lights, connected to a sensor in the evenings, as well as the habit of switching lights of when not being used.  

Another parent shared their savings figures – they saved 200Mts (29 KWh) during the month of November (from 1,700 Mts to 1,500 Mts). 

A third parent also shared the following tips on how to save energy:

  1. Lights were switched off everytime left the room while no one was using. 
  2. Guizer was switched off after use. 
  3. AC was used during certain part of the night. And then switched off. 
  4. TV was only switched on when needed, otherwise it was switched off. 
  5. There was no night light switched on. 
  6. Plugs were removed from the socket as much as possible.
  7. Lamps were used whenever possible instead of ceiling lights.
  8. The family used gas stove instead of electric. 

The family managed to save up 100KWh.  

Apart from feedback from parents, students also shared in class what they were doing at home, such as putting small cards near light switches, to remind family to turn the lights off – as well as suggesting shorter showers to save water and energy.

We were pleased to see most of the students were able to reflect and conclude that they do not use energy in an efficient way, and were keen to share energy saving tips with their classmates.