[SIZE=7]Private schools in Rwanda close down as public schools become more attractive to parents[/SIZE]
By Inside_Education
April 25, 2018 0
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Newspeak
Private schools in Rwanda are on the verge of closing down due to low patronage. A report by Daily Nation says desperate proprietors who face closure of their institutions are now asking the government to sponsor students in private schools at public rates.
But the government has rejected the idea.
The “problem” started with the government’s twelve-year basic education policy which made public schools affordable and preferable.
According to the report, the Ministry of Education invested hugely in expanding capacity and teaching infrastructure at public schools across the country; introduced the school feeding programme and abolished school fees.
More than 30 private schools are said to have closed indefinitely this year, while others are struggling to stay afloat after losing students to public schools.
School owners told Rwanda Today that even those that had managed to stay open were struggling to meet their operational costs.
“We’ve suffered a sharp decline in the number of students enroled, yet the school has accumulated debt, unpaid salaries and owes arrears to suppliers. It is not clear if the school will re-open,” said Samuel Batamba, the head teacher at College Nkunduburezi in Gakenke District.
Mr Batamba said the school used to have 900 students but now has only 80 students after it failed to attract new students while others enrolled in public schools.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Education, the government owns 460 out of the more than 1,575 schools in the country.
The rest are run by religious bodies with the Catholic church owning 620 schools, the Anglican church 279, Adventist church 22 and Muslim schools are at 16. Another 178 schools are run by parents’ associations and individuals.
The most affected institutions are private boarding schools.
Figures show that students in private schools decreased from 101,510 in 2012 to 79,076 last year while enrolment in public and government-aided schools almost doubled in the same period.
According to John Gasana, the Vice chairman of the Private Schools Association, competing with public schools requires huge capital investment to improve infrastructure, equipment and hiring skilled teachers, something many private schools cannot afford.
in kenya its the reverse, private schools are taking over with the blessing of the government, no public schools in most areas, the few that are fully dependable are very rare and a preserve of a few.Kenya is the definition of man eat man society. i was surprised that since the nyayo era, no new public school has been established in Nairobi despite the expected increase in population. Siasa mbaya maisha mbaya, kenyans love politiks but dont appreciate the fact that everything revolves around it.
It is wrong to have more private schools. In any society. This will augur v badly for our nation in years to come. Needless to mention the kids of the well heeled are nowhere near any public schools or unis. The struggle continues unabated.
I just like the way the rich also run abroad for medical treatment.
Many of us went to public schools and that did not stop us from excelling… we need to reexamine the whole scenarios that make us favour private schools over public schools and deal with it head on…
You are in need of some company, the one that is made up of miserable whiners. Afraid can’t provide that. Once again have a great rest of the week.
[SIZE=1]Niko nyuma ya WSR kwa sasa.[/SIZE]
Tell us more about your ‘excellence’. What international corporations are you heading? What innovations have you come up with lately? Which journals have you been published in? How have you contributed to the global body of knowledge? How many people do you employ? :D:D Ati excel… Mshenzi! The kenyan education system has only excelled in churning out imbeciles who lack the creativity and the critical thinking skills needed to apply knowledge.
You do not know me and this is K-Talk so you do not expect to get that information from any K-Talker unless you are just naive. We are here for the privacy it offers. Even on Facebook, I never use my personal details… And I say excellence because I know myself and what I have achieved so far… The fact is that I have been employing many Kenyans for a long time… And I do not earn income in hundreds of thousands like many of you do but in millions per month… And without having to prove to you, academically I was not a dwarf at any time in my life. At this stage in life, it is not about academic nonsense unless you are Jaluo and needs titles like Prof, Dr., Eng, in order to feel successful as they ride in old rusty Mercedes Benz 124 series!!