BUJUMBURA December 24th (ABP) – Way out to transcend the challenges that today undermine the education sector is there, stakeholders should combine efforts to achieve this goal, the provincial director of education Raphaël Ciza told a check by ABP on Thursday.
According to him, the improvement of school results would require improving working conditions, in particular the construction of classrooms and rehabilitating old ones to cope with the plethora of pupils, especially in Mutimbuzi commune, whose numbers are increasing each year: 14.8% during the 2018-2019 school year; 9.9% in the 2019-2020 school year and 10.5% in the 2020-2021 school year.
The communal directors of education and the provincial one, do not have offices, water and sanitation are lacking in a lot of schools, the DPE Bujumbura (western Burundi) continued to say, before adding that the ratio / students / textbooks school / school benches is unbalanced.
DPE Ciza recalls that schools need benches and books, especially those in 3rd and 6th grade, and calls on natives to help buy those books. Schools should also be electrified or lit using solar panels so that they can photocopy materials that teachers and pupils need.
The DPE Bujumbura has teachers who live far from the workplace, 1808 women and 1508 men. Delays, absences, maternity leave jeopardize school performance.
He mentioned that false medical leaves are sometimes issued by government doctors, and they are obliged to verify the authenticity of those documents, giving the example of a teacher who has just spent 77 days of leave without being present to the school and the supporting papers come from the Prince Regent Charles hospital and promised to go and check them.
DPE Ciza warns that things should be put in order to have the school results improved.