Kigali. School of Architecture-College of Science and Technology
Rwanda’s Finance Minister Dr. Uziel Ndagijimana has presented a fiscal year budget for 2020/2021 to Parliament with the government planning to increase the education share by 63%.
The government plans to spend Rwf492billion in the fiscal year 2020/2021 in the entire education sector from Rwf310, 2billion in revised budget 2019/2020, which represents a 63% increase.
‘The government looks towards improving the quality of education.” Dr. Ndagijimana said.
Dr. Ndagijimana said that the government will use the top up, for construction of classrooms, improving school feeding programs, fighting overcrowding in schools and improving the teaching of English language in schools, and boot teaching of sciences in schools (STEM).
The government also plans to spend the money on promoting the teaching of technical schools, and the quality of tertiary institutions, among others.
Teacher at Kazo Primary School in Kamonyi district shows a student what she should have done during school quiz. Mock exams are a much bigger quiz to prepare students to national examsThe new budget finds ongoing development activities in education, though schools are still suspended until September 2020 to stop the spreading of coronavirus.
For example, last week the ministry of education launched the construction of 22,505 classrooms around the country expecting to reduce the overcrowding of students in schools.
Over 31,932 latrines will also be constructed along with classrooms.
The new education budget expenses for 2020/2021 also comes at the moment the report conducted in several schools across the country found loopholes in school feeding programs which creates a poor education environment and undermines the quality of education at large.
Initially, the school feeding policy requires that parents contribute to the meal for children to have lunch for students in the Nine and 12-year basic education programs (9YBE&12YBE) of which the government makes a baseline contribution of Rwf56 per student per day.
Members of Parliament showed that parents’ commitment is still too law.
