RYANKANA
We added this school to our programme in 2019. Located in the poorest and most heavily populated area in Rusizi, Ryankana is a migrant area with an average of over 500 new people settling here every year for economic reasons.
The school is poorly equipped and has a high drop-out rate. It has grown beyond its capacity staring in 1998 with 2 classrooms and just 120 pupils it now has 2,280 in 23 classrooms and desperately needs more.
In 2019 we began by renovating some of the old classrooms but in 2020 we hope to start a new building project initially with three classrooms. Jersey Overseas Aid has given us a grant of £43,000 but we need to match this by appealing to trusts and companies.
The proposed extension will allow for reduction in the current large number of pupils per class (currently 72 pupils per class) and at the same time improve conditions for teaching and learning.
The longer-term impact will be to raise educational expectations at Ryankana leading to improved academic performance at national exams and reduction in drop-out rate. We have evidence of such improvement at Kibangira School which has received significant investment in new buildings over the past three years.