Nursery, lower primary schools to reopen mid-January

The Ministry of Education has announced that nursery and pre-primary schools will resume physical learning on January 18, this year. This was revealed in a press conference that was attended by the Minister of Education, Dr Valentine Uwamariya, where she was joined by Gaspard Twagirayezu, State Minister in charge of Primary and Secondary education, among other officials. According to the school calendar released on January 6, the first term of these class levels will end on April 2, meaning they will have studied for a period of 11 weeks. Their second term will kick-off on April 19, and will end on June 11, the calendar shows. After a holiday of three weeks, these students will go back to school for their third term on July 5 and end it on September 3. According to Uwamariya, the safety of children will not be compromised. “Discussions are underway between the Ministry of Education and health authorities to prioritise safety of students,” she said. The news follows recent complaints by parents who voiced their concerns over the “delayed” reopening of nursery and lower primary schools. They, on one hand, base complaints on the fact that some international schools, which follow a curriculum different from the one set by the government, have students in the above class levels who are currently attending classes. Nonetheless, health experts advised that the decision to permit nursery and lower primary classes to resume studies will be based on a health assessment, putting into consideration the current surge in Covid-19 cases and fatalities.

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Nursery, lower primary schools to reopen mid-January