Gasabo families upbeat as three nursery schools are inaugurated

Parents in Gasabo District have welcomed the completion of three new nursery schools saying it will enable their children attend school more conveniently as they previously found it hard to take them to other schools which are far from their homes.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Anglican Church leaders touring the inaugurated classrooms. (Diane Mushimiyimana)

Parents in Gasabo District have welcomed the completion of three new nursery schools saying it will enable their children attend school more conveniently as they previously found it hard to take them to other schools which are far from their homes.

The fully-fledged schools, which were inaugurated over the weekend, are located in Bumbogo, Rutunga and Nduba sectors. The schools were constructed by the Anglican Church of Rwanda.

Parents also said the new schools would help them provide their children modern education at early age.

"It was always hard for us to send our kids to school early because the schools were far away and we had limited capacity to transport them. Now that this new school is closer to us, our kids will get kindergarten education,” said Goreth Mukasagaga, a mother of three from Nduba sector.

According to Archbishop Osesphore Rwaje, of the Anglican Church of Rwanda, the construction of the schools was part of their evangelical activities.

He said it is the church’s responsibility to support the Government in promoting quality education, adding that the church decided to put more efforts in pre-primary education to help give children a strong foundation.

 "We committed to build these schools closer to parents so their kids can access education early on,” Rwaje said, adding that there are over 500 Anglican Church-owned nursery schools across the country.

Gasabo District vice-mayor in charge of social affairs Languide Nyirabahire said the newly-constructed facilities will ease classroom overcrowding and addresses the issue of children staying home due to lack of school facilities near home.

"In Gasabo District, as elsewhere, we still have a problem of classroom overcrowding due to lack of enough class rooms. Therefore, such support is something to be thankful for. In Bumbogo sector, for instance, the school facility was located far from many homes, which made it hard for children under five to walk there. Many would stay home until they start primary school. Building these nursery facilities near homes is expected to leave no single child behind,”she argued. 

The three schools, each with four classrooms, cost about Rwf90 million. Each school has the capacity to accommodate 500 children.