A new examinations directive by the Rwanda Education Board (Reb) is causing anxiety among students. Reb, last week, directed that no candidate should be allowed to sit for Advanced Level examinations without proof of having passed Ordinary Level.

Previously, candidates were not asked for any requirements to register for A-Level as long as they were recognised by their schools.  

Officials said the new directives are part of wider efforts to enhance education quality and stamp out cheating. 

John Rutayisire, the Reb director-general, said the decision was taken at after discovering, last year, that some schools were registering students who were not qualified to sit A-Level exams, with others cheating their way to get certificates. 

"We are also planning to investigate similar previous errors and take appropriate measures. This is for harmonising standards. In some countries, people lose their certificates after they are found to have cheated in their previous records,” Rutayisire said. 

Drawing from across the region, he said some students from Uganda leave Senior Three (O-Level) to join Senior Four (A-Level per Rwandan system) in Rwanda yet there is no equivalence as the curricula are not uniform. 

Mixed feelings

However, the decision has been received with mixed feelings. 

Michel Muvange Nturo, the director of Ecole Secondaire Nyamirama in Kayonza district, said the directive was welcome as it will check irregularities where some students skipped classes. 

However, he said public schools may not be affected by the directives because students admitted to S4 are selected by Reb. 

Business-oriented private schools are the most affected as they consider report forms from their previous academic years to admit students. 

"We have a serious problem of equivalence as we have students from different countries. This directive has serious repercussions,” Wilson Mugarura, the head teacher of King David Academy in Kicukiro district, said. 

Mugarura said the school has asked its legal representative to challenge Reb.   

Jeannette Nyiramana, the head teacher of College Doctrina Vitae in Gasabo district, said they are engaging Reb after five of their students from abroad have been affected by the policy. 

Pr. Innocent Mutabazi, the head teacher of ES. Maheresho in Nyamagabe district, said Reb should be considerate and enforce the policy after consultations. 

The new policy comes on the heels of similar directives issued to regulate operations of private coaching schools, following the cancellation of results for more than 500 private candidates over cheating in last year’s examinations.