Second school term opens

Over 90 per cent of the student population returned to school by yesterday as the second term opened, education officials have said.

Monday, April 22, 2013
STRANDED: Students wait for transport to school at Nyabugogo Bus Terminal yesterday. Education officials say about 90 per cent of the student population returned to school as the secon....

Over 90 per cent of the student population returned to school by yesterday as the second term opened, education officials have said.Various students and schools authorities also said all education-related activities went as per the Ministry of Education’s directives.In a number of schools visited by The New Times in Kigali, students were attending lessons.The Director General of Rwanda Education Board, John Rutayisire, attributed the high attendance rate to improved transport means."With different stakeholders like RURA we tried to make sure that the problem of transport is solved, since delays were always attributed to lack of transport,” he said, adding that the transporters who hiked fares during such periods were reprimanded. Some school officials attributed the good turn up to allowing students who are yet to pay tuition to attend classes and the Ministry of Education’s transport arrangement for students.Eased transport The headmistress of Lycee Notre Dame de Citeaux, Helene Nayituliki said there should be no more excuse for both parents and students to be late anymore since everything is now better organised."All my students reported on Friday and Saturday. Students used to report late due to school fees but now how can a student delay to report when they know that they are allowed to attend classes even if they have not cleared fees?” the headmistress wondered.She added that the new transport arrangement eased student movement, and even those from distant areas do not experience transport challenges.