The Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) has apologised after an error prevented Leontine Uwamariya, one of the top performers in Rwanda’s national Tronc Commun examinations, from attending the official awards ceremony.
Uwamariya, who studied at ISF Nyamasheke, scored 98.7%, tying with Musonga Isimbi Orah of Fawe Girls’ School for first place in the national examinations.
When MINEDUC and the National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA) announced the results and honoured outstanding students on August 20, Musonga attended the ceremony and received her award, while Uwamariya was absent.
Her absence prompted questions from the public, particularly on social media, about why the ministry had failed to reach a student who had achieved one of the country’s highest scores.
State Minister for Education Claudette Irere explained that the problem resulted from an incorrectly recorded telephone number in the Student Data Management System (SDMS).
Irere told Rwanda Broadcasting Agency that officials attempted to contact Uwamariya when they were calling top-performing students, but the number recorded for her parent was incorrect and was answered by another person.
She said the person who answered initially indicated that Uwamariya would attend, but a second call shortly before the ceremony produced a different response, with the person saying they were in Karongi and could not travel to Kigali.
“Everyone was called. Leontine was the first. They first called one number, but it was not available as we explained. They called the second number, and another person answered,” Irere said.
The minister rejected allegations that there had been an attempt to prevent Uwamariya from receiving her award, describing such claims as unfounded.
She said students who qualify among the top performers but cannot attend ceremonies are still recognised and their awards are kept until they can collect them.
“This is something that happens. It is not unusual. When a child is not available, everything meant for them is kept. What we never fail to do is announce their name,” Irere said.
However, Irere apologised for the incident and acknowledged that students who achieve outstanding results deserve the opportunity to celebrate their success.
“Let children be children and celebrate their success,” she said.
The ministry moved to resolve the matter the following day. On August 21, Uwamariya was presented with her awards by Irere in the presence of NESA Director General Dr Bahati Bernard.
She was also offered a place at Rwanda Coding Academy in Nyabihu District, a specialised school focused on technology and computing.
Uwamariya welcomed the opportunity, saying the school would help her pursue her ambition of becoming a technology specialist and motivate her to achieve even more in her education.
The incident has drawn attention to the importance of accurate student records and reliable communication systems when organising national examinations and recognising top-performing students.
