Rwanda’s Education Minister Joseph Nsengimana has warned that adults found to have helped students cheat in national examinations will be prosecuted and punished, following an investigation that identified cheating incidents involving 7,188 students in 254 examination rooms.
Nsengimana said the investigation established that the problem was not limited to students, with some adults, particularly individuals responsible for administering the examinations, allegedly involved in facilitating cheating.
Authorities have started following up on those suspected of involvement, with some already questioned as part of the investigation and others expected to be interviewed.
“The adults who were involved will be investigated and punished as an example,” Nsengimana said, adding that the authorities had already begun taking action against those suspected.
The minister also said the identities of adults found to have facilitated cheating would be made public.
“We will announce and identify these people so that others do not get the idea of doing anything that could undermine the efforts we are making to improve the quality of education,” he said.
Nsengimana said allowing affected students to retake the examinations does not absolve adults who participated in the cheating from responsibility.
Instead, he explained that the decision to give students another opportunity was intended to protect their interests after the investigation established that adults had played a role in some of the cases.
“The investigation showed that adults were involved, particularly people who were responsible for examinations,” he said.
Under normal examination regulations, students found to have cheated or been assisted to cheat would receive zero marks for the affected examinations.
However, the Ministry of Education opted to allow the affected students another opportunity to sit the examinations, taking into account the involvement of adults in some of the cases.
The minister urged parents to support their children as they prepare to retake the examinations.
At the same time, he reiterated that adults found to have facilitated cheating will face consequences, saying accountability is necessary to protect the integrity of national examinations and efforts to improve the quality of education.
