Schools reopen in Kenya, Rwanda, DR Congo

By James Tasamba

KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - Schools in several African countries reopened Monday after over seven months of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The reopening of schools in Rwanda followed an assessment done in September by the Education Ministry in partnership with the Higher Education Council which inspected 29 universities and other higher education institutions to ascertain their readiness.

“We are ready to start teaching and learning with respect to the safety protocols. We have installed posters and screens at different corners of the campus, demonstrating how to behave to contain the spread of coronavirus while in the classrooms and other university premises,” Callixte Kabera, the rector of the University of Tourism Technology and Business Studies in the capital Kigali, told Anadolu Agency on Monday.

The reopening of secondary and primary schools is expected in November.

The coronavirus cases in Rwanda reached 4,896 with 31 deaths and 3,606 recoveries as of Sunday. The number of new cases reported daily by the Health Ministry has dropped countrywide.

Six months after closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools in neighboring Kenya also reopened Monday for students in 4th and 8th grades and those in the last year of secondary school.

The phased reopening comes amid a recent surge in COVID-19 cases reported in the East African country by its Health Ministry.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, schools reopened with Education Minister Didier Budimbu telling the UN-run Radio Okapi that the start of the school year for 2020-2021 is effective from Oct. 12 throughout the country.

*Rodrigue Forku contributed to this story from Cameroon.