Head teachers begin anti-genocide drive

NYARUGENGE - The Ministry of Education has launched a new drive to eliminate genocide ideology reported last year in some schools countrywide.The new anti-genocide ideology campaign, spearheaded by head teachers, is aimed at achieving rapid evolution by strengthening the fight against the vice among students.The campaign was launched on Thursday by the State Minister in charge of Primary and Secondary of Education, Joseph Murekeraho, who addressed 600 head teachers during a one-day meeting, held at Lycee de Kigali (a city-based secondary school).Under the new drive, the school disciplinary committees have the powers to inspect and review students’ behaviours on a daily basis. The committees don’t have to wait for complaints to be filed. “Like the way a school is safeguarded from robbers, let it be done in the same away against genocide ideology,” Murekeraho told the head teachers.The new campaign comes in the wake of last month’s parliamentary report, which showed high levels of genocide ideology cases in many upcountry schools.Figures published in the report showed that some schools had genocide ideology cases as high as 97 percent. The cases are more likely to go up if there is no action taken, the MPs’ report warned. “It’s shameful to hear of genocide ideology in the education sector which is expected to transform our society from such horrific mind-set,” Murekeraho charged.Narcisse Musabeyezu, the Secretary General in the Ministry of Education, genocide ideology in schools was a litmus test to the elite who are expected to uphold the future socioeconomic revolution of this country.“This is one of the most important issues we should quickly tackle as educators for the entire nation,” he said.Among other concerns raised by head teachers was the delay of scholastic materials for the government backed Fund for Genocide survivors (FARG) students.They complained that FARG sponsored students to get their scholastic materials late after the opening of schools.“The issue here is not only whether delaying their scholastic materials affect their studies, but also getting them at schools will remain open to other students,” said Eden Mfitumufasha, the head teacher of Lycee Catholique St. Alain (ACEDI) in Northern Province. The Executive Secretary of FARG, Jean Marie Vianney Karekezi, told head teachers that it would be a great pity if the scholastic materials issuance roll back 13 years of progress in non discriminative education system.“Your role as head teachers with time is to decide appropriate means to make sure that the issuance of such materials to FARG sponsored students doesn’t spark discontent among their schoolmates” Karekezi urged.He said that the case has since last year been reported to his office, and decision on best means to replace that is expected after the ongoing national census of actual number of FARG supported students at village level.On the issue of delay for scholastic materials, Karekezi was optimistic that their newly adopted strategy of dispatching them to respective districts before schools open will help end the delays.Ends

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Head teachers begin anti-genocide drive