Barely five days until the school academic year begins, the Ministry of Education is yet to publish the list of schools that failed to meet the basic standards. As such, school head teachers have cried foul, saying that the delay has put them in a dilemma. In October last year, the ministry warned that some 108 primary and secondary schools as well as Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Centres that they risked closure after a report faulted them on poor hygiene, misuse of capitation grants, failure to feed students, and misuse of ICT equipment. Other schools were accused of poor leadership and abuse, and having shortage of qualified teachers. The ministry gave the schools time to fulfil all the requirements. It carried out another assessment that will inform its decision on the number of schools that will be allowed to open. However, some school leaders who talked to The New Times have expressed concern over delays by the ministry to release the latest findings. “We were inspected recently but are yet to know the final findings,” a head teacher from a school in Musanze District said, adding that inspectors informed schools that the findings will be shared with district administrators who will in turn inform schools about their fate. “It is a bit too late for us but I am optimistic we will get the green light. The ministry should have made clear our status already,” he added. Another head teacher, who runs a private school, says his school has since fulfilled the requirements but fears they could lose students to other schools. The new report of the ministry is also expected to reveal the findings on additional 31 schools which were audited and investigated for misappropriation of public resources. Officials from the Ministry of Education told The New Times that the report is ready. Benjamin Kageruka, the Head of Inspection Department, said the inspection was completed but declined to divulge details, saying he needs authorisation from his superiors. Several attempts to get a comment from top officials in the ministry were fruitless, but an official in charge of communication only told The New Times that report will be released soon. About 900 primary, secondary and TVET schools and institutions of higher learning were assessed, according to officials. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
