With the students in final corner ahead of the start of ordinary and advanced level national examinations, the most noticeable thing among students is concentration. But at Groupe Scolaire Rambura-Fille, one of the examination centres in the Nyabihu District, a human aspect stands out.

Sitting silently in the corner in one of the examination rooms, 55-year-old Felicien Ngendahimana is making final revision before he sits his first exam.

In a brief chat, he says he completed primary education in 1973 and had to wait more than 35 years–a family and 12 children later –to resume his studies in high school.  

"I couldn’t continue secondary studies because of bad leadership that was in place at the time when only children from rich or prominent families were allowed into secondary.  I joined carpentry and farming, I grew up as a carpenter until I married,” Ngendahimana said. 

He said after starting a family, he embarked on providing for them and that he took it upon himself to make sure all his children went to school.

"I had to do my best to ensure that all my children attend school and now my last born is in high school, others have since started their own families, while others have graduated from university,” said Ngendahimana.

But as he was helping his children through school, he said, the idea of one day going back to school never left him.

"In 2004, I sat with my daughter who was at university and I told her I wanted to study. The idea appealed to her and she encouraged me that it was possible, she also helped me look for a school but I would only start three years later, in 2007,” Ngendahimana said.

Unlike other candidates of his age who join coaching centres and sit for exams as private candidates, Ngendahimana opted for mainstream education system, starting from Senior One.

"I couldn’t join private tutorship because I had taken along time out of school. I wanted to start from senior one for a strong foundation and because I started from scratch, it has helped my confidence to gradually grow,” said Ngendahimana, who is studying Literature at APPEREL College Bukinanyana.

The school is located in Jenda Sector in Nyabihu District. 

"At the beginning I thought it was a problem to study with ‘my children’ but when I joined I was welcomed, children respected me and I considered them both as classmates and as my children. At school, I am even older than my teachers but I never got any problem with this,” he said.

Dreams of linguistics

Ngendahimana studied his O-Level at Ecole Secondaire Kamashi in Ngorerero District. 

"I opted for Literature because during my early years in high school, I developed a love for languages and I did them better during the ordinary level completion exams. I am optimistic that I will pass with good results,” Ngendahimana, who is doing English, Kiswahili and Kinyarwanda combination, said. 

His dream is to go on until he completes university studies after which he hopes to become a linguistics teacher or be self-employed.

Ngendahimana is thankful to local leaders who he says supported him paying school fees through NGOs in the district.