WESTERN PROVINCE

RUBAVU — District acting mayor, Evariste Bizimana has blamed parents and teachers for the existing Genocide ideology in schools.

The remarks come days after recent fire gutted student dormitory at Ecole D’art de Nyondo, which area residents attributed to genocide ideology.

Addressing reporters about the district measures to address the problem, the mayor said: "There are still a lot of ideologies in schools which we strongly believe children adopt from their parents and teachers who still live with the genocide ideology. It is so unfortunate because these are the same people who should be teaching children unity and reconciliation for a better Rwanda."

The mayor noted that there were cases where head teachers and teachers were cited as propagators of the ideology and warned that punitive action "has been and will always be taken against such people."

To curb the problem, he said, the district would establish committees in each school, to be headed by the head teacher whose work would be fighting Genocide Ideologies. He said two student representatives from each class, two teachers’ representatives and members of civil organizations and unity and reconciliation clubs would constitute the committee.

He however, dismissed claims by some residents and parents of the burnt school; that the fire which destroyed student materials targeted Genocide survivors’ students.

The mayor explained that although the school was cited among those where genocide ideology is rife, investigations showed that the fire did not destroy belongings of survivors’ students.

"After reports of fire outbreak at Ecole D’art de Nyondo, we immediately went there to establish the cause of the fire; because some residents had already started claims that the fire targeted the mattresses and other belongings of FARG students. This is not true because the burnt materials belonged to the school," he said.

He said that although the cause of the fire was yet to be established, it was fortunate that it was extinguished before it spread to other dormitories.

He noted that measures to curb ideologues would also involve changing the school’s management.

"The meeting which we had at the school shortly after the fire outbreak, with Nyondo diocese officials, the managers of the school, we decided to change the school administrators because they have been so reluctant in addressing the problem," he explained.

Police and local leaders reportedly attended the meeting.

This is the second time fire has broken out at the school destroying student property worth millions of cash within a period of one year.

Bizimana further said that the district would deploy well-equipped local defense personnel and carry out supervision at the burnt school to detect possible arsonists.

Ecole D’art de Nyondo, a catholic founded school under Nyondo diocese, is reportedly among the most tainted schools in Rubavu, whose headmaster is currently in custody over charges related to Genocide ideology.

Ends