Thousands of children remain out of school more than five months since the government ordered the reopening of all learning institutions.

In particular, children in remote areas are missing out on pre-primary education or nursery school due to social distancing rules and restrictions on the numbers in classrooms.

Theogene Baranyeretse, the head of Itetero Early Childhood Education Centre in Rutsiro district, told Rwanda Today that much as the capacity of his centre has been stretched to the limit, many children in the village are still not catered for.

“Many parents want to bring their children here but our capacity is limited. We currently have 29 children in a facility that should accommodate 20 children,” Baranyeretse told Rwanda Today.

The caregivers also decry limited teaching materials and have resorted to improvising. “We need some teaching materials that can help us perfect the teachings that we o­ffer to the children.

We are currently using the teaching materials that are made out of the scraps that their parents have put together,” said Baranyeretse. According to the National Children Council, Early Childhood Development (ECD) was adopted as a comprehensive approach for engineering the lifetime behaviour patterns for the children aged zero to six years of age, the period when brain development is most active.

With millions of children not reaching their full potential because of inadequate nutrition, lack of early stimulation and learning, and exposure to stress, Rwanda rates 33 per cent of its children as su­ffering from stunting, which hinders their future productivity and that of the country.

Adopted in 2016, the ECD services remains inaccessible to most children in the country. According to official government figures, ECD service is currently reaching 13 per cent of the children in the country, whereas the target is to reach 45 per cent by 2024.

The government and its partners have recently enforced the building of the early child education centres. However, some of the centres lack the teaching resources among other consumables.

According to the children's caregivers, upon resuming learning after six-months, the children were more than the available capacity within the newly constructed and extended classrooms. The increased number also meant that the teachers were insufficient.

Deborah Uwizeye, the executive secretary of Early Childhood Centre of Karambi in Rutsiro district said that with the support from Imbuto Foundation, the centre takes care of around 120 children aged between three and six years. However, the centre is running short of teachers to take care of the children.

“We currently have only one teacher, who covers three classes as his colleagues have left for other well-paying jobs,” said Uwizeye.

Most sectors have an Early Childhood Development Centre. However, with the overwhelming numbers, the government has adapted the home-based ECDs, but the teaching materials remain a challenge.

According to the government’s education policy, all children have to attend kindergarten, start primary school on time, and complete basic education.