Rwanda Education Board has toughened its stance on examinations malpractice ahead of national examinations scheduled to begin next week, warning students, parents and school administrators that there will be no room for leniency.

Addressing journalists at the board’s headquarters in Kigali, yesterday, Emmanuel Muvunyi, the deputy director-general in charge of examinations said preparations for the national exams have been finalised.

"Preparations for national exams have been finalized and guidelines already in place should be adhered to. Those who plan to engage in cheating or any sort of forgery should give up when it is still early,” Muvunyi warned.

He said that a team was already in place to handle any case of malpractice.

"We are working with the district education officers, district police commanders and other security personnel to ensure that the process runs smoothly. No one is above the law and culprits will be disciplined,” he added.

Primary leaving examinations begin Tuesday next week and end on Thursday.

Despite a 2, 279 decrease in the number of primary leaving candidates, compared to last year’s, more girls are expected to sit for primary leaving exams this time.

Out of 168, 290 candidates from 2,609 primary schools, 90,028 girls, up from 88, 632 previously, will sit in the 801 examination centers across the country.

The numbers of girls sitting for both the Ordinary and Advanced level exams have fallen this year.

45,370 girls are sitting the O-level exams out of the 86,376 candidates, down from 45,574 who sat last year.

22, 288 girls are sitting A-level exams out of 42, 687 candidates. This is down from 22, 799 girls who sat last year.

When asked about the decline in A-level, Muvunyi attributed it to the government’s programme of promoting technical and vocation training.

Both A-level and O-level examinations are slated for November 11, and end on November 20.

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