How prepared are schools for new term?

This week, the long holiday will finally come to an end. First term commences on January 26. Many parents are running up and down trying to raise school fees and money for scholastic materials for their children. But are schools ready to receive learners for the new term? The Education Times visited a few schools to get a picture of what the situation is like on the ground, especially in regard to manpower and facilities. Manpower Many schools usually attribute poor performance of their students to limited manpower. But it seems some schools have used the long holiday to recruit more teachers. Annet Batamuriza, the director of King David Academy in Nyarugunga, says they have brought on board 10 new teachers. “We had 40 teachers last year but have increased the number to 50. These will handle arts subjects, sciences and vocational courses,” she says, adding that each subject will be taught by two teachers to ensure efficiency. As for Lycee de Kigali, everything is okay, according to Martin Masabo, the head teacher. “We have enough professional teachers and each subject has two teachers specialising in a particular area, including sports,” Masabo says. “The teachers are just waiting to administer beginning of term examinations to continuing students and orient the new students for one week.” He says that they expect the number of students to increase to 490 from last year’s 460. Monica Tumukunde, the head-teacher of Efotech Senior Secondary School, remained tight-lipped about how many teachers they have to serve over 900 expected students, 50 more than they had in 2014. “All departments are fully catered for. We have two qualified teachers for each subject so there is no reason to worry,” she says. Perhaps it is because of people like Joseph Kalule, a chemistry teacher at the school, that Tumukunde is confident of having a smooth term. “For me I’m already done with next term’s preparations. I’m just waiting to start teaching,” Kalule says. In case your child is going to Petit Seminaire St. Jean, there is no need to lose sleep as all is set for the new term, according to school authorities. “Our programme is usually different from that of other schools but we are ready to receive the expected 350 students,” says Fr Gabin Bizimungu, the rector of the seminary. Kigali Parents School director Gershon Buzare says their teachers have already returned from holidays and only await the start of the term. “We shall start teaching immediately because everything is in place. We have over 30 teachers and our learners haven’t complained of inefficiency on our side,” he notes. Laboratories In today’s world, innovation and technology is important because it drives development and growth. Therefore, every school ought to promote it through constructing and equipping laboratories. We also assessed schools’ readiness in this area. Frank Shyaka, the headmaster of Essa Nyarugunga, says they have fully equipped laboratories to facilitate better learning of science subjects such as biology, chemistry and physics. “We have also purchased more computers to promote information technology and research among our students,” Shyaka says. Similarly, Batamuliza emphasises the importance of laboratories in a student’s academic journey. “We all know the value of science and have therefore availed the necessary apparatus in our laboratory,” she says. “We have over 100 computers in the computer lab and hope to buy more because the number of students keeps growing every year,” she adds. But for Lycee de Kigali, there seems to be no need to equip the laboratory further. According to Masabo, Lycee de Kigali has consistently performed well in sciences at the national level which is evidence that they don’t lack much in terms of apparatus. “Our science laboratories are fully equipped with all the necessary requirements,” Masabo argues. “We have also stocked the computer lab.” Tumukunde also says Efotech’s laboratory is well stocked. Dormitories To study well, a student must be comfortable and there is no better way than having a peaceful sleep after a long day of classwork. This can only be achieved if dormitories are spacious, clean and well aerated, according to school administrators. “We have renovated the dormitories and expanded them to cater for increased number of students,” says Batamuliza. “The dormitories can now accommodate over 600 students.” On the other hand, Bizimungu says there was no need for their school to put up new structures because they usually have a specific number of students they admit which the available facilities can easily handle. But the story is different at Efotech. “We have been renovating dormitories and fixing more beds. We have also fumigated the dormitories,” Tumukunde notes. Classrooms Recently, Olivier Rwamukwaya, the minister of state for primary and secondary education, revealed that 1,082 new fully furnished classrooms and 444 new toilets have been constructed during the long holiday to accommodate the increasing number of students. The exercise is reported to have cost Rwf8 billion. Despite this boost from government, schools also did something to improve their facilities. “The first thing we do at Lycee de Kigali as soon as students break off for holidays is to paint classrooms and do general cleaning,” says the headmaster. Just like King David Academy, Masabo says LDK has fixed broken benches and bought a few new ones to prepare for the new term. Shyaka is also confident that last year’s investment in construction will be enjoyed this year. “We have been working on classrooms since last year and everything is now ready,” he says. A student does an entry interview at King David Academy in Kigali last week. (Pontian Kabeera) Health facilities The health of students is paramount. Therefore, we approached different schools to see how prepared they are to deal with emergency cases. Most of them said they have small sickbay’s to administer first aid to sick students but added that they always rush such students to the nearest health centres and notify their parents to come and pick them. “We have a qualified school nurse who is availed with all the necessary drugs to give to students and teachers,” says Shyaka. However, Masabo believes prevention is better than cure. “We have a very good infirmary and a qualified nurse but I advise students to first go for checkup before they return to school,” Lycee de Kigali head-teacher advises. What teachers, parents say Hillary Mbabazi Emmanuel Twagirayezu Hillary Mbabazi, a teacher Registration of new students is ongoing and new students are joining. We have also introduced new combinations such Maths, Biology and Geography to cater for students who may not love Chemistry or Physics. Our plan is for students to perform better than they did last year. Emmanuel Twagirayezu, a French teacher To enable students develop more interest in French, new books have been introduced. This time round, there are text books for French beginners and I believe by the end of the first term, students will be speaking better French. Rosemary Adhiambo Esperance Mukankubana Rosemary Adhiambo, a teacher Before students report to school, parents should provide them with enough scholastic materials. A student who has all the requirements has nothing to worry about. Sufficient early preparation is essential. Esperance Mukankubana, a parent I am ready to take back my child to school and have already bought most of the things he needs. I have also bought for my son English text books to help him learn the language faster. Dominic Karegeya Annet Batamuriza Dominic Karegeya, a parent I think we should allow our children to learn by themselves this term. Modern countries have developed the practice of giving students handouts that force them to study on their own. I believe it can work for us here as well. Annet Batamuriza, head-teacher King David Academy We have put up new structures to accommodate more students. We have also renovated several of our buildings to make the learning environment more attractive for the students.