After two weeks of reopening academic activities, administration officers in different schools have noticed an improvement in Covid-19 compliance among students. When The New Times visited Groupe Scolaire Kimironko at 1 pm on November 16, students were having their lunch. According to the school’s regulations, S.3 students are supposed to have lunch, prepared by the school administration, in their classes. To avoid contact, a student sits on a desk alone. In addition, a special task force of students was instituted to serve food. Students don’t queue for food, they find it already served on their plates. Upper primary pupils who study two shifts come with their lunch from home while those who live near the school are allowed to go home for lunch. “Self-service would encourage contact among students,” says Françoise Furaha, the school’s headmaster. As students have their lunch, there’s a teacher supervising then to ensure that they maintain social distancing. Speaking to The New Times, the school administration said that students are adjusting well to the Covid-19 guidelines compared to when they had just returned to school. “During the first week, students were slow to adjust to the new arrangement but as time goes by, they seem to understand,” Furaha says. The same views are echoed by Jean Baptiste Habyarimana, the headmaster of Groupe Scolaire Kagugu Catholique. “Young people are challenging, you know, when you tell them to do one thing they do the opposite. So what we did is we insisted until we started to see some change,” he explained. Peace Uwineza, the Deputy Director of Excella School, also experienced hurdles in convincing students to adjust to the new normal. “We always read instructions to them, but students are tough people to convince. At first, you could see students holding hands and shoulders,” she said. Schools predict challenges ahead While the current students are adapting well, teachers and school administrators are worried about what will happen on November 23, when schools welcome the second batch of students as per the academic calendar. “Our concern is November 23 when the number of students will have increased,” Mukampongayire, the Dean of Studies at Groupe Scolaire Kimironko. “We will 46 students per class and we’ll adjust to the double shift approach,” said Habyarimana. Groupe Scolaire Kagugu Catholique currently has 23 students per class in line with the guidelines from the education ministry.
