Laboratory shortage ‘could trigger change in national examinations’
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Loading... - Donald Mbabazi
- 06 Apr 2023
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Students in a group work practical exercise at Fawe Girls’ School-Kigali in February 2023. Photo:
Education minister Valentine Uwamariya has said that the ministry is mulling a proposal to reduce the burden of an inadequate number of laboratories in science teaching secondary schools.
The minister was on Tuesday, March 28, responding to MPs’ queries on the issue of the lack of laboratories in some schools teaching science courses, and that some of the schools that have laboratories lack the required equipment to enable students’ acquisition of practical skills.
This was during the session with the Lower House’s Committee on Education, Technology, Culture, and Youth. The session discussed the issues identified in general education during officials’ visits to schools in different districts of the country from November to December 2022.
Uwamariya said that as of the academic year 2020-2021, laboratories had been set up in 329 secondary schools, equivalent to 14.9 per cent of all the schools that needed them.
“This really confirms that this laboratory issue is serious,” she said, adding that though there were no laboratories in the majority of the schools, they tried to provide basic equipment like science kits. In the financial year 2020-2021, some 1,126 science kits were provided, indicating that they covered 50.9 per cent of the schools in need. Read More…
