Rwanda’s education authorities are clamping down on an “automatic promotion” policy which was scrapped in February of last year, amid concerns it was impeding the quality of education and graduates. 

The initiative was originally implemented in 2011 with a view to encourage school enrolment and retention.

More than 60,000 students in Rwanda will be affected by the move, as they will be forced to resit their exams and will not be allowed to progress to the next grade after being marked in the “uncategorised” fifth grading classification.

Speaking on the official release of PLE and O Level results at the Ministry of Education headquarters in Kacyiru, Valentine Uwamariya said, “The next step will be to trace the students and their schools, and then there will be a special programme to help them improve, in collaboration with REB [Rwanda Education Board], districts and schools.”

In the hours following the news, many young people took to social media to express their disagreement, warning that this move may force more disadvantaged students to drop out of education altogether. 

In response, Uwamariya said, “We can’t ignore that possibility… We will put in much effort in tracing the students and to know their parents, as well as work hand in hand with grassroots leaders to encourage the students to go back to school. We hope that since there is a special plan to support them they won’t be discouraged.”

Social media users also voiced concerns that extenuating circumstances, like the global COVID-19 pandemic, hadn’t been taken into account when making the decision. 

Gaspard Twagirayezu, the State Minister in charge of Primary and Secondary Education, dismissed these suggestions on Monday, telling The New Times, “We can’t attribute it to Covid, because if you look at the overall performance of students, you will find that there is no difference between this year and the previous years.”