Rwanda : The number of schools increased in 2012 – Kagame
Posted on January 2, 2013 by admin in English, Ibikorwa
12 – YBE classrooms being constructed
President Paul Kagame on Monday noted that the number of schools in the country increased in the year 2012 and so was the number of students.
The President made the remarks during the State of the Nation Address at the parliamentary building just hours to the end of 2012.
The president who described the year as full of challenges, also said that there was continued economic growth and development in all aspects.
“This year, the number of schools at every level, as well as the number of students has increased. In primary school, the number of students increased by 2.3 percent from 2,341,146 last year to 2, 394, 674,” said the President.
The Head of State also noted that in secondary schools, the number of students increased by almost 10 percent, up from 486,437 last year to 534,712.
“We also launched the 12-Year Basic Education to improve on the 9-Year Basic Education program we already had in place,” he said.
The 12-Year Basic Education was last year boosted by the construction of more classrooms to accommodate the increasing number of students.
The mass classrooms construction campaign was introduced four years back when the government resorted to a non-conventional method of classrooms construction after the introduction of free basic education.
In the non-conventional method, the government provides the law materials for the construction and the furnishing of the classrooms while the citizens help with labour especially during the monthly Umuganda cleaning exercises.
The government set aside over Rwf 14 billion to construct classrooms for the 12-Year Basic Education (12-YBE) program across the country.
The program has seen all Rwandan children guaranteed of attaining at least a secondary education free of charge.
The 12-YBE is set to be a strong foundation for the country’s socio-economic development.
