More than 70,000 children both with and without disabilities have been reintegrated into Rwanda’s education system in the past two years under the government-backed Zero Out of School Children (‘Umwana Wese Yige’) programme, officials said on Monday.
The Programme Director, Paulin Ndahayo, revealed the figures during a monitoring visit to GS Rusheshe School on January 19, 2026, as part of nationwide assessments of the programme’s impact.
Ndahayo said the initiative targets children who had dropped out or never enrolled in school due to poverty, family instability, disability, and lack of basic scholastic materials.
Interventions include school re-enrolment, provision of learning materials, school feeding support, and psychosocial assistance.
“Reintegrating children into school must go hand in hand with removing the barriers that pushed them out in the first place,” Ndahayo said.
Children with disabilities remain a key focus area. Ndahayo noted that more than 24,000 such children have been identified nationwide as requiring specialised support to access education.
In 2026 alone, the programme aims to reintegrate at least 500 children with disabilities and provide them with assistive learning materials tailored to their needs.
He added that teachers are receiving psychosocial training to support learners with diverse needs and ensure they remain in school.
“Returning children to school while others continue to drop out is like pouring water into a leaking container. We must address all the gaps that cause school dropout,” Ndahayo said.
At GS Rusheshe, school authorities reported that 26 formerly out-of-school children have been reintegrated, including seven with disabilities. Head teacher Jean de Dieu Ntagungira welcomed the support, urging parents to recognise education as a non-negotiable right for every child.
Parents have also welcomed the initiative. Solange Nyirahabimana, whose child was reintegrated at GS Rusheshe, said the programme restored her child’s access to education after dropping out due to an intellectual disability.
The Zero Out of School Children project is funded by Qatar, through Education Above All, and is being implemented by Save the Children in partnership with the Ministry of Education.
Launched in 2023 as a five-year national programme, Zero Out of School Children aims to reintegrate more than 177,000 children into school across Rwanda.
The programme operates in over 3,200 schools. Since its inception, it has identified more than 189,000 children in need of education support, with over 71,000 already returned to school.
