The Ministry of Education (Mineduc) on Monday assured the public that the 2019 Senior Six National Examination results were credible despite former Minister of State in charge of Primary and Secondary Education, Issac Munyakazi, being cited a malpractice scandal.

The pass rate for the 2019 S.6 candidates rose slightly by 1.28 per cent in results that were announced Monday.

At least 89.50 per cent of the candidates passed, according to the ministry.

Munyakazi, who resigned early this month was cited in a corruption scandal in which he reportedly received a bribe of Rwf500, 000 to rank a school among the top ten performers without merit.

Commenting on these allegations, the Minister of Education, Eugene Mutimura, said that the malpractice has no connection with the national examination results.  

"I think people misunderstood what really happened. The case is connected to malpractice of ranking of the schools and not marking exams,” he said.

"That is why we can’t relate it to these national examination results. We didn’t rank schools this time,” he added.

According to the minister, Mineduc suspended schools' rankings last year after it emerged that the process was promoting "unfair competition”.

Munyakazi is yet to appear before the court over the alleged crimes, however, Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) recently told The New Times that they had launched investigations into the allegations.

Law n° 54/2018 on fighting against corruption stipulates that any person who solicits, accepts or receives, by any means, an illegal benefit for himself/ herself or another person, or accepts a promise in order to render or omit a service under his or her mandate or uses his or her position to render or omit a service commits an offence.

Upon conviction, he/she is liable to imprisonment for a term of more than five years but not more than seven years with a fine of three to five times the value of the illegal benefit solicited received.