Government has clarified the revised school calendar. Starting this year, all schools will begin the first term in September. The new directive is for primary and secondary education.

The development, according to the Minister of State in charge of Primary and Secondary Education, Gaspard Twagirayezu, comes to ensure that all students are kept safe from the global pandemic. 

Since mid-March, schools have been closed in a bid to curb the coronavirus spread.

However, when schools were abruptly closed, students had not sat the end of term examinations, and concerns emerged that teachers had barely covered the syllabus that term.

However, the State Minister pointed out that schools will restart this academic year in order to facilitate all learners.

Students during an IT class in 2015. Schools will remain closed till September to curb spread of coronavirus. File.

This means that, "for all the schools in line with the national curriculum, students will start with the first term, second term and then third term.”

This is not a void academic year

Amidst the emerging concerns of whether this was going to be a void academic year for students, the education ministry has emphasised that students have been given a number of incentives to facilitate home-schooling.

"We can’t call it a void year,” says Twagirayezu, "Ever since students returned to their homes, they have been given enough leaning platforms to keep them schooling while at home, as we help them stay on track. They (students) have many knowledge sources to turn to as they wait to go to school.”

These are tight measures for such unprecedented times that the whole world is going through, therefore, Twagirayezu points out, "I can’t call it a void year. I would rather recommend that learners use the provided platforms as they keep safe.”

What it means to twist the academic year

The government had earlier embarked on the journey to review the school calendar.

On top of protecting students from the novel coronavirus, the new revision, according to the ministry’s officials, aims at delivering three major challenges.

The challenges include; protecting students from harsh dry season, aligning the academic year with the government fiscal year, as well as harmonising the primary and secondary school calendar year to that of universities.

According to REB’s Director General, Dr Irénée Ndayambaje, the revision of the calendar will be done in a way that it does not affect the curriculum implementation.

"Now people can be aware of the upcoming change and get prepared in advance. But we can assure them that the revision will not affect academic outcomes. We have taken enough time to prepare to make sure the new calendar will come into effect with everything in place,” he said in an interview.

The proposed revision comes 16 years after government restructured the academic year from starting in September to January. The move was aimed at harmonising with other East African Community member countries.

Previously, the school year began in September and ended in July.

Teachers welcome the move

Teachers and other stakeholders welcomed the new directive, saying that revising the school calendar will not only ensure that learners are kept safe from the growing pandemic, but also improve the quality of education.

"Getting back to the old school calendar will bring positive learning outcomes because students will get to learn in good season and get long holidays in the dry season,” says Felicite Mukeshimana, the head teacher of GS Gisagara.

For Cherish Nkurunziza, a primary school teacher at Kigali City School, if implemented, the new directive will ensure that no student is left behind.

"It is true that the government has established a number of learning platforms for students. But not all students have access to that. Though if they all start at once in September, then no one, including learners living in rural areas, will be left behind,” she says.

Jean Nepo, a teacher at Excella School, echoes the same sentiments, saying that with the available opportunities for home-schooling, it is definite that some students will be left out.

However, he observes, "If we re-start the whole academic year, then there will be no excuse from teachers or learners.”

Stanislas Munyengabire, a teacher of languages at Groupe Scolaire Sainte Bernadette, argues that getting back to the old calendar will help them deliver their lessons well.

"In the dry season, especially in the afternoon, it is a bit hard for students to follow. I would look around in the classroom and half of them were asleep. Even for teachers, it is difficult to deliver effectively in such circumstances.”

Parents say the proposal offers relief because under the former arrangement, school starts after the festive season, which makes it hard for them to raise school fess after spending on festivities.

"For day-school children, having to walk miles in the scorching sun is unpleasant. The harsh weather affects the performance of students,” a parent says.

"June and August is the harvest period, which means we are economically stable. When schools open in September, we have no big issues securing school fees,” says Anastasie Uwababyeyi, a Rwamagana based farmer.

Jean-Léonard Sekanyange, the spokesperson of the National Civil Society Platform, says that the factors that led to the revision sound reasonable.

"Students who finished secondary school were spending a lot of time before they could move on with university studies, because the university calendar was far ahead of the one for secondary school. This meant waste of time and loss for both the government and students,” Sekanyange says.