A new digital attendance tracking system rolled out by the Ministry of Education is expected to help reduce school dropouts by enabling early identification of learners at risk.

The mobile application, introduced at the start of the current academic year in October 2025, allows class teachers to record daily attendance, generating real-time data on absenteeism.

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Jean Claude Hashakineza, the Director General in charge of education communications at the ministry, told The New Times that the system is designed to flag prolonged or repeated absences so timely interventions can be made.

"With this application, we can detect children who are at risk of dropping out by analysing absenteeism data. Once they are identified, appropriate measures can be put in place to prevent them from leaving school,” he said.

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So far, 2,371 schools across 22 districts have been enrolled and trained to use the application. Hashakineza noted that because the system was introduced midway through the first term, wider uptake is expected in the second term of the academic year.

Speaking during Teachers’ Day celebrations recently, State Minister for Education Claudette Irere said the platform will strengthen collaboration between the education sector, local government and other institutions in following up on learners at risk of dropping out.

Schools’ experience

At Groupe Scolaire Saint Joseph Gisanze in Nyamagabe District, headteacher Odille Mukamutesi said the system has already improved the management of attendance data.

"Teachers simply log into the system and record attendance. This makes it easier to know when a learner has missed school and to follow up,” she said, adding that reports are now generated faster, improving collaboration.

Mukamutesi noted that further development of the platform, including access for local government officials, would strengthen joint efforts to keep children in school.

However, some schools have reported challenges. Jeannette Nyinawumuntu, headteacher of Ecole Primaire Nyakarera, said discrepancies between the system’s data and actual enrolment figures remain a concern.

"In some cases, the number of learners shown in the system does not match what we have at school. For example, a class may have 50 pupils, but the system only shows 28,” she said.

She added that schools have been informed that improvements are underway and expressed hope that the issues will be resolved soon.

At Ecole Primaire Bibungo in Kanyinya Sector, Nyarugenge District, headteacher Phocas Rwagahungu said the platform has already helped identify learners who were frequently absent.

"We adopted it in late October and detected three students who were not attending regularly. After engaging their parents, we found that one of them was sick,” he said.

Rwagahungu added that making attendance data accessible to the ministry strengthens monitoring beyond the school level, enabling earlier support for learners before they drop out.