Nine city schools risk closure over poor hygiene

KIGALI - Nine city schools risk being closed if they don’t meet the required minimum hygienic standards as set by the Kigali City Council (KCC) by the beginning of next academic year slated to open this February. The development was revealed by Vestine Mukeshimana, KCC’s Health Inspector whose department has been carrying out evaluations for five months. Mukeshimana said that it would be hazardous for to the students if the schools open in their prevailing conditions. “The schools have been grouped into three categories which are red, yellow and green, depending on their state” said Mukeshimana adding that the worst schools were in the red category. Those in yellow are doing their best to correct the problem while green have been given a go-ahead to reopen. The schools in the red category include; Groupe Scolaire APERWA, College de Mwendo, APACE Kabusunzu, Ecole Amis des enfants Kagugu, and ESSA Nyarugunga. Others are Collège Ingenzi, Groupe Scolaire Kimisange and ESA Gikondo and King David Academy. There are currently 32 schools in Kigali with a boarding section that have been the major focus of hygiene inspectors since August last year. Speaking to The New Times, the vice Mayor in charge of Social affairs in KCC, Jean d’ Arc Gakuba, said that even though the schools were classified in red, they had room for rectifying the problems. “If these schools are able to correct what they have been asked to correct, there is no reason they cannot be allowed to start,” said Gakuba. However, some of the head teachers who were present when this report was presented said that they had been visited at a time when the schools had just finished accommodating members of the Itorero. “The Itorero youth left our school in a sorry state and that is when the team came to inspect us,” said the legal representative of King David Academy Annet Mutamuliza.She however said that the school was working round the clock to repair the mess. Of the 32 boarding schools, only eight fall in the green category, while eleven schools are in the yellow category.Schools reopen on February 2. Ends

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Nine city schools risk closure over poor hygiene