Solely seven per cent of scholars who handed the Major Leaving Examinations (PLE) have secured locations in boarding faculties as greater than 180,000 others will attend day faculties, the Minister of State for Training, Claudette Irere, has mentioned.
Irere mentioned the figures mirror the restricted capability of boarding faculties throughout the nation, including that it was not doable to accommodate all college students in boarding services.
“Accessible boarding faculties can accommodate solely 17,000 college students in Senior One, whereas those that handed the Major Leaving Examinations are greater than 200,000. Which means that not everybody can go to boarding college,” she advised nationwide broadcaster RBA.
This adopted the discharge of nationwide examination outcomes for Major and Extraordinary Degree on Thursday, August 20.
Irere mentioned the federal government prioritises putting college students in faculties situated near their households when boarding locations are unavailable.
“What we do subsequent is to search for the place they’ll research with out dealing with difficulties, near their households,” she mentioned.
She added that the nationwide examination outcomes had been launched greater than two weeks forward of the start of the brand new tutorial yr to allow training authorities to coordinate pupil placements and establish accessible areas.
“We take time to work with different involved establishments to allocate these college students. That’s the reason we launch nationwide examination outcomes a bit early—to see the place we are able to get areas to allocate all college students who handed the nationwide examinations,” Irere mentioned.
“Each guardian needs that their kids can go to the varsity of their selection, however we have now restricted capability. Shifting from services that accommodate 17,000 college students to people who accommodate 200,000 isn’t one thing you are able to do in a single day,” she mentioned.
Irere cited GS Saint Aloys for instance of the excessive demand for boarding locations. The college reportedly had 120 accessible locations however obtained functions from about 28,000 college students.
She mentioned the federal government would proceed to spend money on each boarding and day-school infrastructure as sources grow to be accessible.
“We’ll proceed placing in additional effort to extend infrastructure for boarding faculties, as we additionally construct the capability of day faculties. We’ll maintain growing boarding faculties as we get the monetary means to take action,” she mentioned.
Irere inspired dad and mom to assist kids positioned in day faculties, saying that college students can carry out nicely whereas finding out near their households.
“Day faculties are additionally good faculties and can be found. College students can enroll there and research nicely as additionally they get assist from their dad and mom,” she mentioned.
In response to NESA figures, 17,412 college students progressing from major to Senior One have been positioned in boarding faculties, whereas 226,546 have been positioned in day faculties.
For college kids transferring from Extraordinary Degree to Superior Degree, 18,944 have been positioned in boarding faculties and 57,276 in day faculties.
In Technical and Vocational Training and Coaching (TVET), 2,698 college students have been positioned in boarding faculties, whereas 17,747 will research in day faculties.
Mother and father communicate out
Nonetheless, some dad and mom expressed disappointment over the placements.
Anasthasie Batamuriza, a guardian from Rwamagana District, mentioned she had hoped her daughter can be admitted to a boarding college after scoring 86 per cent within the nationwide examinations.
“Whereas we had been comfortable that she bought good grades, we obtained the outcomes with combined reactions as a result of she couldn’t get admitted to a boarding college,” Batamuriza mentioned.
She added that boarding college had been each her desire and her daughter’s aspiration.
“Our want was for her to get a spot in a boarding college, and she or he additionally wished to go there. We hope that extra faculties will probably be constructed sooner or later in order that extra kids might be admitted,” she mentioned.
Minister Irere urged dad and mom to assist college students enrolled in day faculties stressing that the federal government will steadily broaden boarding services according to accessible sources.
