More than 4,500 desks missing in Burunga : pupils forced to share up to five per seat

SOS Médias Burundi,

Burunga, September 26, 2025 – In the extended district of Burunga, in Burunga province in southern Burundi, more than 4,500 desks are missing, forcing up to five pupils to share a single seat. This critical shortage seriously threatens learning conditions and pushes some young people onto the streets or into exile.

Schools in the extended district of Rumonge, in Burunga province in southern Burundi, are facing an alarming shortage of desks, according to local sources. This shortage constitutes a major obstacle to the Ministry of National Education and Scientific Research’s policy, which aims to ensure that no child is poorly seated during the 2025-2026 school year.

Difficult learning conditions

In some schools, up to four or five pupils share a single desk, making learning extremely difficult. District authorities recognize that these poor working conditions for teachers and pupils contribute to the decline in school attendance.

Worrying social impact

The district of Rumonge, one of the most densely populated in the province, is at a critical crossroads. Many young people drop out of school to work on the streets or are recruited by smuggling networks, particularly in the Kigwena zone. These networks facilitate the departure of minors to neighboring countries such as Tanzania or other southern African countries including Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi and South Africa, in search of better living conditions.

Youth exile : a symptom of a deep discontent

Some of the population believes that Burundi has become difficult for those who are not members of the ruling CNDD-FDD party, and even some members aware of the situation are choosing to flee to other East African Community (EAC) countries. This phenomenon raises questions about access to education and the socio-economic despair affecting a portion of the population.

Zealous youth in the service of the power

Another segment of the youth, loyal to the CNDD-FDD, remains in the country and contributes to intimidating the population, giving the impression that the situation is normal. According to them, the lack of fuel, drinking water, electricity, Brarudi (Burundi Brewery Company) products, chemical fertilizers, or medicines is not a concern as long as the guns remain silent.

These young people are flooding social media to project the image of a country that’s doing better, while in the villages, the population lacks everything, and in the cities, residents are forced to walk due to a lack of public transportation, as the fuel crisis has lasted nearly five years in the small east African nation.