With about two weeks left to begin the first term, some parents and students have changing school top on their priorities. Unlike the old times where one relied on the performance tables that ranked schools in the entire country, the task now is more cumbersome within a pool of good private and government schools to choose from. Therefore, it is advisable that before handpicking on a new school, all the nitty-gritty should be examined.

Theoneste Ngirowunsanga, a teacher at College APPEC Rukoma in Kamonyi District, advises that changing schools within the first term should be done early since it is the shortest of the three.

"It is a mistake to rush for a change at the last minute in such a short duration of time. The first concern for anyone planning to switch schools should be the timeline,” says Ngirowunsanga.

Ngirowunsaga also expects parents and students to follow Ministry of Education guidelines  closely for guidance on school choices.

"You are aware that the new curriculum is ready, and is to be rolled out in schools, so someone seeking a change of schools ought to ensure that new schools can easily accommodate the changes,” he adds.

However, Anastase Muhayimana, at GS Nyarusange in Western Province considers good performance as the first step towards securing a good school.

"Any new school will ask for the previous report card as the first thing; so it does not help a student to relax because he has plans of changing schools the following term. If you are targeting a good school, be sure that you maximise your efforts and perform well,” says Muhayimana.

As a teacher of mathematics, Muhayimana is critical of discipline and suggests that any good school should exhibit a clean record of discipline.

"Parents, too, want schools which instill quality behavior. It is disappointing to hear that your child who never got involved in an indiscipline case before is now jumping fences after joining another school,” he adds.

Seth Ndahayo, a teacher at Santre Primarie Nyabisinde in Musanze District, believes that the quality of school facilities is important and if those in the current school are better, then students are better off not switching at all.

"It is important to make a survey first; visit the library, the dormitories and the laboratories to see if they fit into your expectations,” explains Ndahayo

On top of the facilities, Ndahayo adds that teacher quality should not be overlooked because in the end it determines the quality of academic output.

"Good teachers are the engine of good products. If teachers can express themselves well and explain concepts explicitly then one should be sure that similar skills will be obtained by the students,” he adds.

It should however be noted that changing in private schools may be simple, but for those allocated schools by the government, an alternative procedure has to be taken.

Switching schools of excellence

Jean Piere Habimana, the district education officer of Kicukiro, explains that much as it is not common within public schools, circumstances can prompt change of schools.

"A timely formal request to the necessary authorities has to be made. The decision cannot be impromptu, I am quite sure that those seeking change of schools for this term have already completed the move,” says Habimana.

According to Habimana, only students in senior two and senior five can submit a written letter with a report card from the old school to the mayor with both the new and the old school copied in.

"It is after such an undertaking that consideration can be made depending on the reasons one is giving,” he explains.

Much as parents want the best for their children they are usually constrained by the budget but that would not mean they should not look out for other qualities, according to experts.

"Security in a school is very important, you should ensure that there are systems in place both at the entrance and within the school premises to ensure ultimate security of the learners,” says Alex Mushumba, the headmaster of Remera Martyrs, a day and boarding School in Giporoso.

Effect on performance

Although switching schools could improve the well-being of a student, several studies conclude that it should not be an impromptu solution to academic challenges because of associated burden of disadvantages.

Studies conducted in Canada found that children who switch schools somewhere between kindergarten and Grade 3 don’t do as well when it comes to standardised tests.

The research could not establish whether poorer achievement is a result of the disruption of moving or other outside factors but agreed that there is an "elevated risk” when kids change schools at such a young age, to which attention should be paid.

Arguably, new students coming into the classroom require more time from the teacher and decreasing teacher availability for the rest of the class affects them. In other cases, routines are disrupted as the pace of instruction slows to accommodate new students, who may be behind in the curriculum.

Because of such disruptions, Kigali-based counsellor Joyce Kirabo points out that before switching a school, parents need to weigh out additional aspects, especially if it is not for the cause of finances.

"Unless it is to accommodate affordability, switching schools is not something that should be done regularly. For example, when students move to new schools, they lose out on the network of friends as well as teachers in their former school. Such a combination is likely to affect academic performance,” explains Kirabo.

Parents voice their concerns

With school dues, affordability of transport to quality of standard top of the list, parents too have a number of things they expect to find in a new school.

Aline Uwezeyimana, a parent in Kabeza whose preference lies in boarding school believes that quality of school meals should be verified before considering applying for admission in any school.

"Especially for private schools, which promise a number of things to attract students when most of them are non existent. Meals are one area where complacency should not be entertained because poor meals cant enable students settle in a new environment,” she explains.

Peter Gakuba, a parent from Nyamirambo advises that before arriving at the right International school scrutiny of the curriculum and languages is necessary.

"Schools offer different languages, you may find those with German, French or Spanish.  Depending on your language preference chose a school within your expectations,” says Gakuba.

Simon Niyonzima from Kimisagara, believes that most of the research on the schools can be found on the websites of the schools.

"There should be no excuse since most of the information on schools is regularly published on individual websites and brochures. From such information, it should not be difficult to establish a quality school,” says Niyonzima.

What do you look out for when joining to a new school?

Maureen Munyana, S3, student at Lycee Notre Dame de Citavx: The ideal school to change to will be the one that is performing better than the one I was in. However, it would again  depend on my parents since sometimes they may have made the decision of shifting me to a cheaper school where they can afford to pay the school fees.

Launette Igihozo, S2 student, Enema Guenna School:

I will weigh the advantages of the new school in terms of academics over the older one. If the good attributes outweigh those at my former school, then I will change to it.

Franklin Umuhire, S4 student, GSK Rugando:

My parents changed me from my previous school to one nearer home. According to me it’s not good to keep changing schools since by doing that forces one to keep on adapting to the new environment, teachers and also students which may affect performance.

Phiologan Musafiri, university student:

Changing from one school to another depends on various reasons, but the most important is performance and affordability. However, in case one has been expelled from their former school, moving to the next one will be mandatory. But if one has been performing well, I don’t see the reason to move them to a new school.

Joseph Nsengimana, student, Kigali Parents School:

Changing to another school means starting a new life in unknown place. But the main reason to shift would be if the new school performs better than my former school.