By JOHNSON KANAMUGIRE

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Schools across the country have been forced to return to teaching in shifts as they struggle to accommodate learners after construction of classrooms ran into headwinds.

Rwanda Today learnt that a big number of the much-awaited additional facilities had not been completed by the time schools gradually reopened over the past three months with no timelines on when activities could resume.

Our survey in several districts indicated that apart from a few schools that were completed but not furnished nor equipped, construction of others largely stalled with contractors having abandoned the sites.

Contractors decried missing roofing materials, cement for pavements, metals for windows and doors, as well as other requisites for furnishing after the ministry of education and districts grappled with a shortage and high cost of building materials in the markets.

“The market has been overwhelmed by the demand for the materials. Initially delivery was slow but now it seems it will take long due to budget deficits that arose from procuring overpriced materials,” a source involved in the construction told Rwanda Today, adding that cost of metals, timber and furnishing materials, among others more than doubled and tripled in some instances while others are completely out of the market.

Henry Kakooza, executive Secretary of Rwamagana, one of the affected districts admitted they expected the government to disburse additional funds to plug a deficit in the budget after prices skyrocketed.

Districts are waiting for the ministry of education to supply missing materials. In Kigali, however, the issues were compounded with challenges linked to the administrative reforms that saw its districts, which oversaw and coordinated the construction activities, lose autonomy to the City Council, hence were left with no budget to expedite the construction activities.

“This affected progress on ongoing classroom construction because the budget has to come from Kigali City, and that hasn’t happened. We are still waiting,” said Andre Nsengiyumva, head of GS Nzove, a school in Nyarugenge District.

The school with 2,224 learners expected at least 16 new classrooms of which none was ready by the time learning resumed on November 2 up to today as construction activities have been on hold.

Like in many other schools surveyed in Rulindo, Rwamagana, Muhanga, Kamonyi, Ruhango and other districts, learners returned to be overcrowded in existing facilities, which made learning even more difficult amid pandemic-induced restrictions requiring social distancing.

New rules

As a result, teaching in shifts which had been prevalent in primary classes were extended to secondary levels in a bid to accommodate everyone.

School heads say it was going to be even tougher in view of the ministry's new rules to only allow one student per desk instead of two previously in light of rising Covid-19 virus cases and spread across the country.

Much as the Education Ministry earlier predicted delays in completion of selected classroom construction projects citing the pandemic and disruption in supply of construction materials, its officials did not agree to discuss current progress and fresh timelines.

The Ministry of Education did not comment by press time. State Minister for primary and secondary education Gaspard Twagirayezu referred Rwanda Today to officials in charge of basic education quality assurance who were not forthcoming with details by press time.

Meanwhile, details shared by affected schools indicate that in most instances learners would have to be split into small groups in such that they rotate in multiple shifts involving skipping days in a bid to cope with space issues.