Candidates seating the first paper in the PLE
Silence prevailed across all Rwandan Primary school classrooms today, as National Examinations kicked off.
A total of 194,679 primary school pupils started Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) from 765 examinations centers with each classroom seating 25 candidates countrywide.
The pupils will sit five exams including Mathematics, Social Studies, General Paper, Kinyarwanda and English.
According to Ministry of Education, the number of candidates increased by 26,389 this year compared to 168,290 candidates who sat last year.
Female candidates outnumbered their male counterparts with 101364 and 93315 candidates respectively. Female candidates increased by 13% while male candidates increased by 19%.
This morning, the newly appointed State Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, Isaac Munyakazi, launched the examinations at Groupe Scolaire Sainte Famille in Nyarugenge District in the capital Kigali.
He told the candidates to be confident and avoid cheating, warning that tough sanctions will apply for anyone found a victim.
“Do not panic. If you have prepared well the exams you will all pass. Avoid distractions because any temptation can make you lose it all,” he said.
Louis Abraham, who is sitting his exams from La Colombière School in Kacyiru, said he is eager to finish the examinations and join secondary school.
“I am panicking a bit, but I hope all will be fine because I prepared the tests well. I can’t wait to start secondary school,” he said.
The Primary Leaving Exams (PLE) will last for three days, while the examinations for Secondary school will start on November 9 through November 18.
Rwanda has made the 12 Year Basic Education free and compulsory. The enrollment rate at primary school is estimated to 95 per cent.
State Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, Isaac Munyakazi distributing question papers
