Dutch Princess urges pupils to strive for excellence

Princess Petra Laurentien Brinkhorst of the Netherlands was, yesterday, impressed by Groupe Scolaire de Mayange pupils after a quiz and encouraged them to always strive for excellence.

Friday, March 02, 2012
Princess Petra Laurentien Brinkhorst conducts a lesson in Primary Three, Groupe Scolaire Mayange, yesterday. The New Times / Courtesy

Princess Petra Laurentien Brinkhorst of the Netherlands was, yesterday, impressed by Groupe Scolaire de Mayange pupils after a quiz and encouraged them to always strive for excellence.The 46-year-old princess hadwas visitinged the school which is in Muyange sector, Bugesera District, Eastern Province.Accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) and the Netherlands Embassy in Kigali, the Dutch royal first visited pupils in primary three where she observed their lessons.  She then took the primary three pupils through a quiz to test their reading and counting skills. "I am happy to have met such bright students. I encourage you to always strive for excellence in education by reading hard because it will enable you to become successful people in the future,” the PPrincess Brinkhorst advised the excited pupils. After addressing the pupils, the pprincess donated to the school a book she wrote titled ‘Mr. Finney’. The book depicts the journey an individual has to undergo to succeed in life. She also visited the Kacyiru-based Kigali Public Library, which is currently under constructionconstruction and Kagugu Groupe Scolaire in Kinyinya sector. Princess Brinkhorst is the wife of Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, the third son of Queen Beatrix and Prince Claus of the Netherlands, Jonkheer van Amsberg. She is in the country to attend a three-day Global Partnership for Education conference in Kigali, which ends today. The conference, which attracted delegates from over 25 countries, aims at improving the quality of education among the youth through reading.