GITEGA September 13th (ABP) – The directors of public boarding schools in Gitega thank the Burundian government for having increased student subsidies, despite the bitter observation of the increase in certain foodstuffs having passed from simple to triple on the market, they lamented at the ABP microphone.
They were speaking about preparations for the start of the school year, 2023-2024 Edition. They indicated that those subsidies are already in the bank accounts of most educational establishments. However, they identified other challenges observed at the boarding school, citing among others the insufficient beds and mattresses, the non-renewal of the paint and the non-repair of the infrastructures due to lack of remaining subsidies of the year 2022-2023.
However, at the Collège Notre Dame de la Sagesse (CNDS), welding and maintenance work was observed there. At the Saint Thérèse Lycée in Mushasha, the school director, Sr. Victoire Nyabenda indicated that such work has already been completed there. But due to lack of sufficient financial resources, we did not do what we wanted, she confided with regret.
At the Kwibuka secondary technical school, the boarding school suffers from a lack of 200 mattresses. Instead, the students sleep on foam shreds, according to the school director, Mr. Gérard Nibigira. He also raised the glaring lack of modern toilets, specifying that the latrines of the establishment are built archaically, adding that they are likely to cause risks such as diseases from dirty hands, he added.
In the educational sector, the start of the school year will also be against a backdrop of challenges. All the school officials mentioned above were unanimous in discussing the inadequacy of the teaching staff. They requested the replacement of retired teachers and the assignment of new teachers to newly created sections. They deplored the overcrowding in the 7th year basic classes.
The prefect of studies at Gitega High School, Mr. Jean Marie Ted shared the same feeling. The director of the LNDS highlighted a particular case: the plea for a definitive list of disabled students, with a view to preparing their reception accordingly.