PLE exams to be done in English

Candidates who will sit the 2010 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) will take their exams in English. This is part of the implementation process of the 2008 government policy of adopting English as a medium of instruction in schools which began at the beginning of the 2009 academic year. The new development was revealed by the official in charge of exams at the Rwanda National Examination Council, Peter Kayisire. According to Kayisire, during the 2009 exams, 95 percent of the total number of PLE candidates answered their exams in English while the rest used French. Kayisire, however, said that the arrangement this year will not concern candidates in secondary schools as they will be allowed to answer the papers in languages of their choice, but hastened to add that they will be compelled to answer in English in 2011. Kayisire also revealed that students who sat their exams in English last year performed better than those who answered in French and called upon schools to put in more efforts in adopting English. Some schools haven’t fully adopted English as a language of instruction, especially in rural schools. According to statistics from the Ministry of Education, the Ministry managed to provide intensive English training to 40,008 teachers countrywide. Ends