EASTERN PROVINCE

BUGESERA — The First Lady Jeannette Kagame will this Thursday commission the newly constructed Maranyundo Girls’ School in Bugesera district, a school official said.

The executive director of Maranyundo Initiative, the project that spearheaded the construction, Jennifer Boyle told The New Times yesterday, that their project is dedicated to the continued improvement of the quality of education in Rwanda.

"Our focus is on building and developing a model secondary school for girls in Nyamata and training teachers nationally through the building of a teacher training institute," Boyle said.

She said Maranyundo Initiative offers hope, pride, opportunity, and a uniting force for Rwanda and its young women.

Boyle further said that the school is an independent boarding school to absorb top female students from poor families.

According to the director, the students who have been enrolled in the school are needy children who passed primary six national exams in the district.

"At least 75 per cent of our students are from Bugesera district and 25 per cent are from the rest of the country. We admitted students backed by their previous schools, mayors and district education officers as needy children," she said.

The school has so far registered about 60 students in senior one. The director also said their target is to admit only 180 students. We shall admit more 60 students next year and we shall be admitting only 60 students in senior one in the subsequent years since it is ‘O’ level, she added.

She said that the Maranyundo Initiative is an international partnership of educators, government leaders, and dedicated people with vision; whose aim is to help Rwandans forge a bright future for their people.

"What underlies this partnership is to build schools and school systems that help fulfill the Rwandan commitment to education. Together we are breaking new ground, both literally and symbolically," she explained.

The school’s mission is to provide an excellent community-based private education for girls; of limited financial capacity to help them develop into future country’s leaders.

According to Boyle, the school will be administered by the Benebikira Congregation- a Rwandan order of Catholic sisters who are said to be national leaders in the field of education.

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