Five schools from across the country have been recognised for their outstanding performance in the 2026 National Kinyarwanda, Culture and Heritage Competition. The national grand finale, held at Lycee de Kigali Gymnasium on Sunday, June 20, brought together winning schools from Kigali City and the four provinces. ALSO READ: Key things to know about Rwanda’s first Kinyarwanda ICT dictionary The competition organised by Rwanda Cultural Heritage Academy, tested secondary students' knowledge through a variety of language-, culture- and history-based exercises. These included Ntibavuga, Bavuga grammar exercises, riddles, questions on traditional marriage customs, Rwanda's liberation history, and Rwandan cultural values, among others. E.S. Mubuga, representing Western Province, emerged as the overall winner with 86 percent. G.S. Remera Rukoma from Southern Province finished second with 85.5 percent, followed by Ecole des Sciences de Musanze from Northern Province with 84 percent. E.S. Bumbogo, representing the City of Kigali, scored 83 percent, while TTC Kabarore from the Eastern Province obtained 75 percent. All five finalist schools received certificates of merit, books and cash prizes, while each participating student was awarded a laptop computer. The finalists will also take part in educational visits to Rwanda's museums and heritage sites. ALSO READ: Ikinyarwanda goes digital: New ICT dictionary launched Speaking at the event, Amb. Robert Masozera, RCHA Director General, said the competition was introduced to address gaps in young people's Kinyarwanda proficiency and knowledge of the country's history, culture and heritage. He said the initiative had demonstrated that students are eager to improve the knowledge about their language, culture and heritage when given the opportunity. The results show that the knowledge is there. What was missing was a way to awaken and nurture students' interest. This competition has revealed a strong passion and thirst among young people to learn more about their culture, language and heritage, he said. Masozera noted that the initiative has encouraged students to pick a greater interest in Kinyarwanda and cultural identity at a time when some young people increasingly mix the language with foreign languages or underestimate its value. We want young people to excel academically, learn other languages and compete globally, but without losing touch with their roots. Language and culture are the foundation of identity, he said. According to Masozera, the competition has helped foster positive changes in schools, with students becoming more conscious of using Kinyarwanda correctly and correcting one another through initiatives such as Ntibavuga, Bavuga. He said the programme has engaged more than 15,000 students, creating a network of ambassadors for Kinyarwanda, culture and heritage. Future editions, he added, will place greater emphasis on training teachers and expanding the programme beyond 20 schools that initially participated. Nelson Mbarushimana, Director General of the Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB), said the competition complements efforts to ensure students can speak, read and write Kinyarwanda effectively while deepening their understanding of Rwanda's cultural values and heritage. Kinyarwanda carries our history, values and identity. Learning English or other languages should complement, not replace, it, he said. He also encouraged schools to organise more educational visits to museums and heritage sites, arguing that students learn best when classroom lessons are linked to real-life experiences. Participants said the competition broadened their understanding of Rwanda's history and culture. Arsene Ngufi, a student at E.S. Mubuga, said the programme exposed him to aspects of Rwanda's heritage that he had not previously known. I learned a great deal about our history and heritage, and I will share that knowledge with my fellow students, he said. He called for the initiative to be expanded to more schools and for additional Kinyarwanda content to be integrated into learning materials. Another participant, Rozette Umurisa from E.S. Bumbogo, said the competition strengthened her understanding of important cultural concepts, particularly the distinction between values and heritage. Before the competition, I found it difficult to differentiate between values and heritage, but now I understand the difference clearly, she said.
