Transparency International Rwanda report say teachers and learners bribe their way to get admission to schools they like
Rising corruption cases are locking out children from poor backgrounds from schools.
It has emerged that parents and teachers are asked to pay for their admissions to favourable schools at the expense of those who can’t afford to pay the bribes.
The Ministry of Education has been ranked the fourth corrupt institution by a new report by Transparency International Rwanda, after the Private Sector, Traffic Police and Local Government.
According to the report, Rwanda Bribery Index, the likelihood of students paying bribes to go to favourable schools is eight percent while a teacher is seven percent likely to pay a bribe to secure a job in secondary schools.
Corruption prevalence in Rwanda Education Board rose from 3 percent to 8 percent in one year.
The rise in corruption in the education sector comes after the government scrapped the automatic promotion policy that would have seen students with low pass marks promoted to their next class.
More than 60,000 students failed the national exam from 2019-2020 academic year.
Students testified that bribes are mostly paid when they seek to change or get to schools for various reasons after sitting for national exams. While there is a protocol to follow when one wants to change schools, the National Examination and school Inspection Authority have been put on the spot for asking bribes of Rwf300,000 to offer the service.
'Pay first'
“My younger sister passed the Primary 6 National Examination and was given a place in a school located in Rusizi District. Because it is far from Kigali, we tried to change the school, but all our efforts failed because we had no one to help us and we heard that some had to pay for that. In the end, she went to study in a 12 Year Basic Education Programme School,” one respondent recounted.
A parent in Kigali told Rwanda Today, under anonymity conditions, that there are individuals who have made it a business to get students their favourable schools after paying.
"I paid Rwf70,000 to get my daughter a public school because I could not afford a private one. I don’t know how they do it, but bribes are likely involved,” she testified.
Ministry of Education was ranked the ninth institution with the likelihood of bribery on the Rwanda Bribery Index in 2020 and the third in 2021. Observers say corruption perception in the sector could increase further as more students who have failed try to circumvent and pay their way into schools.
Corruption also teachers seeking jobs in schools. In some districts, there are fixed amounts of money one must pay to get a job in some schools.
The overall perception of bribery in Rwanda is “Medium” from “High” in 2020. The total amount of bribe paid in 2021 has decreased from Rwf19,213,188 in 2019 to Rwf14,126,000 in 2021.
In East Africa, Rwanda has the severest laws against corruption, including imposing severe fines, and naming and shaming the names of people convicted of the crime.
Rwanda National Police has recently dismissed over 480 police officers for “gross misconduct” the majority of which are related to corruption.