City schools top P.6, Senior Three exams

KIGALI - The 2007 Primary Six and Senior Three (Tron commun) national examination results were released yesterday, showing a decline in the former category and a slight improvement in Tron Commun performance. The results which were announced at the Rwanda National Examination Council (RNEC) head office in Remera indicate that Kigali City trounced the rest of the country, thanks to a few city schools. The success of Kigali this time round is a sharp contrast of the city school’s miserable performance in the previous examinations, in which they trailed most of their upcountry counterparts. Kigali schools swept all the best 23 primary six positions, although they were beaten by Groupe Scolaire Officiele (GSO) Butare of Huye District, Southern Province, to the first position in the Senior Three examinations. Gasabo District’s Kigali Parents took the first five positions in primary six and has a pack of eight candidates among the 23 overall best pupils. Gasabo has a total of 16 candidates among the best 23, while others came from Kicukiro District (5 pupils including the sixth and seventh) with two places going to Nyarugenge District.Overall Bright Light Primary School emerged the best with an average of 67.76 percent, followed by Good Foundation (63.48%), L’Horizon (61.98%) and APAPER which scored an average of 58.35 percent. They are all based in Gasabo. In S.3, Petit Seminaire Ndera emerged the best countrywide trailed by Green Hills Academy, all in Gasabo District. Kigali City also dominated the Senior Three category sweeping seventeen positions among the best 26, courtesy of Petit Seminaire Ndera (eight places), Fawe Girls (three), Lycee Notre-Dame de Citeaux (three), and Green Hills and IFAK which registered two and one students, respectively, among the top cream. Aline Umuhire Juru of GSO Butare emerged the best overall student with 10.7 points, followed by Christian Muhire, Eric Rucogoza (both with 10 points), Come Siboniyo (9.9) and Patrick Nshuti (9.8 points), all from Petit Seminaire Ndera. Derrick S. Gasasira of Kigali Parents in Gasabo District emerged the best in Primary Leaving Examinations, with 91.33 percent, followed by four former female schoolmates; Divine Mutoni, Lilian Ishimwe, Grace Ingabire and Yvonne M. Mutoni with 91, 89, 87, 86 and 84 percentages, respectively. The State Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Joseph Murekeraho and RNEC Executive Secretary John Rutayisire presided over the release of the results. The overall performance in Senior Three examinations showed an increase of two percent from 43.9 percent in 2006. However, the number of candidates who scored distinction declined from 11.9 percent in 2006 to 6.8 percent last year. A total of 46,719 candidates sat the final national examinations, up from 44,865 in 2006. The overall performance for Primary Six reduced from 43.3 percent in 2006 to 26.74 percent. Last year, a total of 115,924 pupils sat the exams compared to 119, 708 candidates in the preceding academic year, which represents a decline. The results also show an improvement in girls’ performance from 37.8 percent in 2006 to 40.6 percent last year while the boys’ performance declined slightly from 62.1 to 59.4 percent. Performance among the girls at Ordinary Level shifted from 15.1 percent in 2006 to 16.4 percent last year while that of boys improved slightly by 0.2 percent up from 28.3 percent in 2006. At the senior Three level (Tron Commun) female candidates dominated the first twenty-six positions countrywide. The results showed that private secondary schools overwhelmingly trounced public and other government associated schools. Briefing journalists shortly after announcing the results, Murekeraho urged parents and teachers to help the government uplift education standards in the country. Most of the best students in primary schools came from private institutions and the same trend also happened in Senior Three. Murekeraho commended RNEC for what he described as a very successful exercise, and added that the ministry was consolidating the gains of education sector.Ends