The Rwanda Union of the Blind (RUB) has welcomed the reopening of a programme at Groupe Scolaire Gahini to students with visual impairment, three years after the school stopped admitting learners with the disability.
The move is expected to revive inclusive secondary education at the Kayonza-based school, which pioneered its programme in the late 1990s and has since been regarded as a model for integrating students with visual impairment into mainstream education.
The reopening follows concerns raised by RUB and former students in June after the school stopped receiving visually impaired learners, prompting calls for education authorities to restore the programme.
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Speaking to The New Times, on Wednesday, October 14, RUB executive director Jacques Mugisha welcomed the reopening saying that GS Gahini remained an important institution because it allowed students with visual impairment to learn alongside their sighted peers.
"We prefer GS Gahini because it is the only inclusive school that admits students with visual impairment we have in the country. Other institutions are special schools, and they do not help much, especially for students at secondary level,” Mugisha said.
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He explained that studying alongside other students helps learners with visual impairment develop social relationships, prepare for university and improve their prospects of employment.
"Students with visual impairment need to be integrated at secondary school because we do not have special universities. They need to study in an inclusive environment and prepare for university and employment,” he said.
Mugisha described the reopening as a positive development that would strengthen inclusive education and give students with visual impairment an opportunity to demonstrate their academic abilities.
He added that the school had a resource room staffed by two people who would provide specialised support to visually impaired learners as they study alongside other students.
He said that six students were admitted in GS Gahini when the academic year started in September.
RUB will continue engaging students with visual impairment and encouraging them to enrol at GS Gahini, Mugisha said.
GS Gahini headteacher Luke Karemangingo confirmed that the school had reopened its programme for students with visual impairment and was ready to continue providing inclusive education.
He said the school had met with the Ministry of Education, the Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB), RUB and district officials, with the stakeholders agreeing that the institution should resume its programme for visually impaired learners.
"We have met different stakeholders, including the Ministry of Education, Rwanda Basic Education Board and Rwanda Union of the Blind, as well as district officials, and we agreed that the school should keep receiving students with visual impairment,” Karemangingo said.
"We are proud and ready to provide inclusive education as we have always been doing so.”
He said the school would draw on its previous experience to ensure that students with visual impairment receive quality education.
Earlier, Karemangingo had said the programme was not deliberately discontinued, explaining that the number of admission requests had gradually declined until no visually impaired students remained at the school.
The last group of six students completed Senior Six in the 2024-2025 academic year, effectively bringing the programme to a halt.
REB backs the reopening
The Rwanda Basic Education Board has also confirmed the resumption of admissions for students with visual impairment at GS Gahini.
Irenée Muyizere, director of special needs and inclusive education at REB, said students had been admitted and the school would continue receiving visually impaired learners.
"Rwanda is promoting inclusive education, and GS Gahini has been one of the country's model schools. We cannot afford to lose such an important programme,” Muyizere said.
He had previously told The New Times that the school should continue admitting students with visual impairment even when the number of applicants was as low as one.
He said learners with visual impairment deserved access to quality education, regardless of their numbers.
GS Gahini first admitted students with visual impairment in 1997. Over the years, it developed into a model of inclusive secondary education, bringing together visually impaired learners and their sighted counterparts in the same learning environment.
Available figures indicate that 106 students with visual impairment completed secondary education at the school between 2002 and 2025.
The school has a dedicated resource room established with donor support, Braille equipment for students and teachers, and staff trained in inclusive education.
For RUB, the reopening is an opportunity to restore that legacy and ensure that students with visual impairment can access education that prepares them for further studies and the world of work.
Mugisha said the union would continue advocating for inclusive learning opportunities, stressing that the focus should not only be on how many students have graduated from GS Gahini, but also on ensuring that the programme remains available to future generations.