Dear Editor, I strongly agree with District Education Officers and head teachers who blame poor performance of pupils on incompetent teachers and indiscipline among pupils. However, one cannot entirely base on the above reason as the cause of poor performance in class. Other factors include; lack of teamwork among teachers, poor communication between parents and teachers, and poor command of both English and French languages. If a student is not conversant with a language then passing an exam written in that very language is almost impossible. Last year, many students failed to get the pass mark set by the Ministry of Education and the Rwanda National Examination Council. For instance, in primary leaving examinations, a total of 2,939 pupils failed to attain the pass mark. It was resolved that those head teachers whose schools performed poorly, be fired from their jobs. Many of these teachers have not had a chance to do internship. So, simply firing them cannot do the teachers or students any good. I would rather the teachers are strictly supervised to ensure lesson plans and schemes are followed. It would also be good if district officials carried out periodic group inspection of secondary schools and submit reports to the district. With close supervision, the student’s performance can be better. GATSIBO
