Hundreds of University of Rwanda students in Huye District are stranded on campus after failing to find buses back home as public transport companies prioritise high school learners.

Public transport has been disrupted across the country since Sunday when the Ministry of Education embarked on a major effort to get all high school students back home in a space of two days following the outbreak of the deadly new coronavirus in Rwanda.

The Ministry of Health on Saturday, March 14 suspended schools, congregations in places of worship and other large gatherings for a period of two weeks in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.  

The move seeks to help strengthen the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic after the country confirmed its first case on Saturday.

Positive cases in the country have since grown to five.

On Sunday, students in secondary schools started returning home, with those in City of Kigali and Southern Province the first to return home.

The plan was for varsity students to have vacated their respective campuses by 5p.m Monday, while all high school students were also expected to be home before Tuesday.

However, the Ministry of Education has now called on higher institutions of learning to be patient for stranded students as shortage of business slows the process.

The Minister of State in charge of ICT and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Claudette Irere, told The New Times Monday that the Government was primarily focusing on making sure that secondary school students across the country make it home safely.

"We are collaborating with learning institutions to make sure that students who are yet to get transport means continue to be accommodated on campus,” she said.

Shortage of buses poses challenge  

She acknowledged that shortage of buses has been a major challenge.

This, she said, is expected to slow down the effort of transporting students from schools in Northern, Eastern and Western provinces, an exercise initially scheduled Monday, March 16, but could be dragged on through Tuesday and perhaps even Wednesday.

The minister called for collaborations for smooth implementation.

"What is happening now is not something that was expected. We are using the limited resources that we have to make sure that every child gets home safely. However, we need teamwork.

"For instance, parents who have cars should pick up their children because the buses are few compared to the number of students,” she said.

All varsity students had initially been given up to Monday evening to leave. Unlike their high school counterparts who are being transported with support from the Ministry of Education, however, they were expected to find their own way home.

University of Rwanda (UR)-Huye guild minister for social affairs Brian Mutagomwa said in a telephone interview that indeed students were stranded but pointed out that they would not be locked out of their halls tonight.

"Yes, we are aware that the buses are still dealing with secondary students but no student will be left stranded. If they don’t make it home today (Monday), they will do so tomorrow. We hope that, by then, the issue will be resolved,” he said.

Bruce Uhoraningoga, a first-year student of medicine at UR-Huye campus, told The New Times that he arrived at the bus park at about 9a.m Monday looking for a Kigali-bound bus only to find long queues of mostly fellow students.

"I have been lucky to get on the 2p.m bus but not everyone had that chance. The only bus company that is serving the route is Alpha and it has a limited fleet. Everyone is desperate to go home,” he said.

Precautionary measures  

Some precautionary measures that everyone in the country has been advised to follow to help contain the pandemic include; avoiding unnecessary travels to countries with COVID-19, avoiding handshakes and hugs, and frequently washing hands with soap and water or with an alcohol-based sanitizer.

Other measures also include avoiding touching eyes, nose or mouth before washing hands. Members of the public with flu-like symptoms have been advised to call toll-free number 114, of Rwanda Biomedical Centre, for further guidance.