9YBE well on course -MINEDUC

• Over Rwf9 billion already spent KIGALI - The ongoing construction of classrooms for the Nine Year Basic Education programme is making progress around the country; according to a report by the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC). The detailed report shows that over 60 percent of the work across the country has been completed through the efforts of different stakeholders including the general public. Speaking to The New Times, the coordinator of the 9YBE project, Deogene Murindahabi, said that the pace of the work was ‘promising.’ “With over one month remaining to the end of the year, we hope that the remaining work will have been completed because from what we see and the current reports from around the country, most of the construction has reached roofing stage,” he said. Murindahabi added that the remaining part of furnishing the classrooms was not going to be so difficult since all the materials needed have been dispatched to districts. The building materials which were provided by MINEDUC include iron bars, painted iron sheets, ridges for roofing and cement. The rest of the work is done in districts with the help of over Rwf 5.1 billion raised by the Ministry and members of the community. Murindahabi also revealed that in total, the government spent Rwf9, 8bn on the construction materials and paying engineers and technical staff. He further added that an additional $1 million (Approx Rwf570m) was also provided by UNICEF to facilitate the supervision of the construction activities. “All the needed materials in the construction work are available, so it is now the part of everyone to put in more efforts and make sure that the work is completed with in the stipulated time because we want it done before Christmas,” said Dr. Mathias Harebamungu Harebamungu, State Minister in Charge of Primary and Secondary Education. The 3,172 classrooms being constructed around the country are expected to be used by over 170,000 school children who are expected to be promoted into the lower secondary in the 2010 academic year. Ends

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9YBE well on course -MINEDUC