Rumonge : five pupils sharing one bench, the promise of “Zero Improperly Seated Children” wavers

SOS Médias Burundi

Rumonge, September 29, 2026 — Two weeks after the start of the 2026-2027 school year, several primary schools in the district of Rumonge, in Burunga province in southwestern Burundi, are facing a shortage of desks and benches. In some classrooms, three to five pupis have to share a single bench, according to school officials. This situation contrasts sharply with the government’s commitment to ending the problem of children sitting improperly in schools.

The primary schools of Mugweji, Mugomere I and II, and Rukinga I, II, III, and IV are among the schools particularly affected. Some schools report having received some of the expected desks and benches, but maintain that the need remains significant.

Due to a lack of classrooms and sufficient furniture, some pupils are attending classes in churches. Other schools are forced to borrow rooms from neighboring schools to accommodate their pupils.

School officials also lament the delay in providing the resources needed to repair damaged desks and benches. They believe these difficulties should have been anticipated before the start of the school year.

According to district administrative sources, the district of Rumonge had planned to manufacture 5,000 desks and benches, but only about 2,000 have been produced so far.

Jean Hatungimana, the district director of education, acknowledges that many pupils are still studying in difficult conditions. He cites the depletion of wood as one of the causes of the delay. He states that the district has acquired new timber, which should provide more wood to continue manufacturing the desks and benches.

This explanation is contested by some teachers, who believe the authorities should have taken action sooner to prevent this situation.

National promises confronted with classroom realities

The situation in Rumonge is not an isolated case. In several districts across Burundi, the lack of desks and benches continues to disrupt learning conditions, despite commitments announced by the authorities as part of the national campaign “Zero Poorly Seated Children in Classrooms.”

In June 2026, Prime Minister Nestor Ntahontuye announced that the government was committed to providing 331,956 desks and benches before the start of the 2026-2027 school year. A deadline of August 15, 2026, was set for their installation in classrooms.

The program specifically includes manufacturing desks and benches from wood sourced from former district forests to meet the needs of schools.

The government had also announced the allocation of 18 billion Burundian francs to finance the production of school desks in the districts.

However, the difficulties reported in Rumonge raise questions about the pace of the program’s implementation, the availability of materials, and the monitoring of the funds committed.

The teacher shortage exacerbates the difficulties

In addition to this furniture shortage, there is a teacher shortage. The local education authority estimates that approximately one hundred educational staff members have left the country.

School principals are requesting their replacement, arguing that these departures are affecting the operation of schools and learning conditions.

Parents, for their part, are asking the authorities to strengthen oversight of the use of funds allocated for the production of school desks. They particularly want to understand why, despite the funding announced by the government, some pupils continue to sit three, four, or five to a single desk.

The persistence of these difficulties raises renewed questions about the monitoring of the “Zero Poorly Seated Children in Class” campaign and its implementation in schools.

For school officials and parents in Rumonge, the challenge now is to see the announced commitments translated into concrete action in classrooms, so that pupils can study in adequate conditions.