Rumonge : schools in crisis, over 3,400 dropouts in just a few months

SOS Médias Burundi

Rumonge, June 7, 2026 – The port city of Rumonge, in Burunga province in southwestern Burundi, is facing a worrying situation in the education sector. More than 3,400 cases of school dropout were recorded during the first two terms of the 2025-2026 school year, according to data from the district education directorate.

Among the pupils who left school, approximately 1,500 are girls. Education officials attribute this situation to several factors, including poverty affecting many families, academic failure, illness, and unwanted pregnancies.

Statistics indicate that 80 girls have dropped out of school after becoming pregnant. According to police sources, the alleged perpetrators of these pregnancies are often difficult to identify. Some victims hesitate to report them, which complicates legal proceedings.

According to educational authorities, many pupils enroll and attend school at the beginning of the year but gradually drop out over the following months. This phenomenon contributes to the already poor academic performance observed in the district. Rumonge is thus among the localities that regularly record poor results on national exams.

The district’s geographical location, situated on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, also contributes to school dropout rates. Attracted by the search for income, some young people turn to trade, fishing, or seeking employment in neighboring countries.

Faced with this reality, stakeholders in the education sector are calling for mobilization among authorities, parents, and education partners to combat the root causes of school dropout. They believe that additional efforts are needed to support vulnerable families, prevent early pregnancies, and keep children in school.

Reducing the school dropout rate is now a major challenge for the district of Rumonge, which aspires to improve the performance of its education system and guarantee a better future for its youth.

The situation in Rumonge is not an isolated case. In several other regions of the small East African nation, parents, associations, and teachers report similar cases of school dropout. The growing poverty that is plaguing households is cited as the main cause of this phenomenon.