Kigali of Rwanda confined, schools closed again

Faced with the worrying increase in Covid-19 cases in the Rwandan capital, the government therefore announced on Sunday evening the immediate closure of nursery, primary and secondary schools (colleges and high schools) for at least two weeks. For the older ones , this means a new forced vacation only two months after the resumption of classes, and for the younger ones who still had not resumed, it is a new postponement of the start of the school year.

The news broke just hours before school resumed. Jean De Dieu Umuhoza had however prepared everything for the return to school of his three and seven year old sons, after ten months of forced vacation due to coronavirus.

“  It surprised us, because we made sacrifices to get the children back to school. We spent money on tuition and materials, so when they say it at the last minute, nobody can be happy about it, and personally I'm upset. This morning my son woke up at five o'clock and asked me to go to school. I didn't know what to say to him, so I told him all the same that we were going to get ready to go  ”, testifies Jean De Dieu Umuhoza.

"  The children were shocked  "

A little further on, Aurélie Mukamukunzi sorts beans in front of her small grocery store: “  We know it's because of the coronavirus, so we understand. But the children were shocked.  "

Innocent, her 14-year-old son, nods. He had resumed lessons in November: “  They are causing us a lot of delay. I'm going to finish high school around 19 or 20 when I should have finished at 18. You see, it's a lot of delay. "

However, the measure does not concern boarding schools in the capital or schools in the rest of the country.