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Lockdown in Kigali subjects learners to further challenges

Tuesday February 02 2021
Lockdown

The Ministry of Education extended the closure of all schools including universities in Kigali due to the 15-day lockdown in efforts to curb the second wave of coronavirus infection. PHOTO | CYRIL NDEGEYA

By JOHNSON KANAMUGIRE

The second wave of Covid-19 infections could put further strain on learning as schools suffer yet another shutdown months after reopening from prolonged closure that left trails of social ills.

School managers indicate the shutdown could not only derail progress on the academic calendar but also dash hopes of bringing on track thousands of learners who require remedial courses after their levels were found to have declined due to prolonged stay at home.

Learners mainly from vulnerable families with pre-existing learning challenges were unable to keep in touch with their teachers through online learning when schools were closed to stop spread of the virus.

Rwanda Today learnt that day and boarding schools had started to subject the students in this category to extra class sessions on the weekend to last for months for them to catch up, even as most embarked on identifying more in the incoming lower primary and nursery level cohort.

“We were arranging to hold extra classes of four to five hours every Saturday, but the shutdown has now derailed that process. It will imply that schools employ unconventional approaches to get these students back to track once we reopen,” said Evariste Banzubaze, headmaster of GS Gisozi I, a public school in Kigali.

Mr Banzubaze said glaring gaps were identified when it comes largely to science subjects and languages.

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Andre Nsengiyumva of GS Nzove in Nyarugenge District told Rwanda Today educationists were also still tracing learners yet to be accounted for as they had so far not reported to respective schools after they reopened.

However, efforts to fix the gaps while expediting the academic calendar under the new normal have suffered a setback in several schools in Kigali following the recently-announced closure of schools.

The Ministry of Education extended the closure of all schools including universities in Kigali now put under a 15 days’ lockdown amid efforts to curb the second wave of coronavirus infection spread.

Despite gradual reopening of schools in November under strict health and safety protocols including wearing of facemasks during and out class, handwashing and social distancing, Ministry of Health cited daily movements of teachers, pupils and contact with communities as making control of the pandemic spread an uphill task in both day and boarding schools.

Education Minister Valentine Uwamariya hinted that with infections continuing to rise, more school shutdowns were possible in selected parts of the country.

Apart from Kigali, other districts with fast expanding towns which are home to several academies such as Huye have equally recorded sustained rise in infections and deaths over the past weeks.

Daily infections in the country continued to be on a rising trend since last month to a record 289 new cases on January 19.

According to the education ministry, all Kigali-based boarding school students will remain at school as day learners stay home pending a health assessment after two weeks.

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