COVID-19 positive students to sit national exams in Rwanda

Kigali, Rwanda | Xinhua | Students being treated for COVID-19 under home-based care in Rwanda are to sit their national examinations under strict health protocols, the country’s education ministry said.

All examination centers will set up a separate examination room, which will be disinfected every day, for these students, the ministry said in guidelines published on Sunday.

A total of 452,053 candidates across the country are expected to sit their national examinations, including written and practical exams, from June to July, according to the National Examination and School Inspection Authority.

The first written exams, the three-day primary level examinations, start on July 12, followed by ordinary level ones and others.

Students under home-based care shall be accompanied by parents or responsible relatives when coming from and going back home, and those who “don’t feel well enough” will not be allowed to sit the examinations, the ministry said.

The nearest health facilities are required to provide face masks, hand sanitizers, gloves and a medical worker at examination centers, according to the guidelines.

The envelopes containing examination answer sheets will not be opened until 10 days later when “there is no risk of contamination,” the ministry said.

The patients eligible for home-based care include those who are asymptomatic and below the age of 65 years without other long-lasting health complications, Rwanda’s health ministry said last October.

As of Sunday, the central African country has recorded 48,244 COVID-19 cases, 32,523 recoveries and 560 deaths, according to the health ministry.

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Xinhua