Mahama (Rwanda) : more than 500 children did not join their guidance schools due to lack of resources

These are pupils and schoolchildren who have passed the test at the end of primary school and the first secondary cycle. Their parents, mostly Burundian refugees, do not have the means to pay the necessary fees for orientation schools. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

However, the average pass mark at the Mahama camp in Rwanda was good according to teachers.

“More than half of the pupils and schoolchildren passed with a mark of distinction and are directed towards good schools in different neighborhoods of the country”, they reassure, adding that they are mainly Burundians.

The problem arises while humanitarian NGOs like “Save the Children”, which normally paid the fees of these pupils and schoolchildren, told parents that due to lack of funds, parents must themselves take care of their young people. A situation which greatly disturbs parents because these costs are too high for them.

“If I do calculations for my child who finishes the lower cycle, heading to the south of the country, the costs of school fees, school materials, materials necessary for boarding school, ticket, etc., all of this can cost me more than 250,000 Rwanda francs (over 250 USD), so where can I find all this money?”, laments a parent from this camp.

Her situation is similar to that of many other families expected to send their children, numbering more than 500.
They are asking humanitarians for emergency assistance so that these young people can return to school.

As an alternative solution, Save the Children has granted an automatic place to pupils and schoolchildren who will not have the chance to join their orientation school to continue their studies in Mahama, in particular at the “Paysanat L” school complex which has already more than 20,000 pupils.

“This means that all these children will continue their studies in the same school and in sections which are not of their choice. This will in some way affect their future because their choice sections could guide their curriculum even at university”, lament parents who emphasize that they have no other choice.

“This situation can lead to dropping out of school, disengagement or failure for a student who is given a section other than that of their choice”, explain teachers.

More than a week after the start of the school year, hope for these pupils and schoolchildren is dwindling and several of them are resigning themselves to continuing in the Mahama camp located in eastern Rwanda.

The camp has more than 55,000 refugees, the majority of them Burundians, the rest being Congolese.