KIGALI - The over 3,000 classrooms meant for the Nine-Year Basic Education Program (9-YBE) whose construction began four ago are now ready.

This was announced yesterday by the coordinator of the project for 9YBE in the Ministry of Education, Engineer Diogene Mulindahabi.

"All the classes around the country are ready for the students,” said Mulindahabi in a telephone interview.

The 3,172 classrooms and over 10,000 restrooms are supposed to accommodate over 170,000 students who are going to join the lower level of secondary this year.
This is the second batch of students under the 9-year education scheme.

The programme, whose implementation started with the 2009 academic year, was introduced by the government mainly to trim the rate of secondary school drop-outs.

The classrooms constructions cost the government over Rwf9 billion. It would have cost over Rwf30 billion under normal tendering procedures.

But the government engaged the public in the construction of the classrooms where it provided building materials and parents provided labour and other construction needs.

The 9-YBE program is a pledge made by President Paul Kagame during the 2003 presidential campaigns where he promised that every Rwandan child would have chance to study the first nine years for free.

The 2010 academic year begins next week on Monday.

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