Forgery hurting city education

Falsification of report cards to obtain admission into private schools in Kigali is listed as one of the major challenges hampering education quality.Speaking during an education workshop organised by Kigali City Council, an education activist from Power in Education, Lambert Gatera, a local civil society organisation, revealed that a recent survey indicated that over 100 students in various city schools used forged report cards to obtain admission. Addressing participants, the State Minister in charge of Primary and Secondary Education, Dr Mathias Harebamungu, stated his ministry was aware of such irregularities but pointed out they were working towards addressing the issue. He, however, maintained that it was the obligation of every school to investigate the background of each student before admission in order to rein in instances of forgery .Harebamungu noted that his ministry plans to set up an electronic filing system of all students in the country to easily trace the movement of every student from one school to another to curb the use of forged academic documents.APACE Kabusunzu Secondary in Kimisagara Sector, Rwampara Secondary School and Gasogi Secondary School in Gasabo District, were identified as the main culprits. The minister noted such instances of forgery usually arise in poorly managed schools.The city inspector of schools, Marthe Yankurije, similarly pledged to address the issue. “We are going to effectively strengthen our means of inspecting schools in the city through sharing information with all private and public schools.”The minister further called on the head teachers of all 4,120 schools countrywide to take heed while admitting students in their respective schools to avoid such irregularities.The headmaster of APREDI Indera, Andrew Kalisa, suggested that the Rwanda Education Board (REB) issues results slip to students who complete Primary Six and O’Level education to check the practice as REB presently does not award such certificates. REB statistics indicate that out of the best 10 performing schools in O’Level examinations, only Lycee notre Dame de Citeaux, was from Kigali, with the rest all based upcountry.

National

Forgery hurting city education