Rwanda
Ministerial Order determining General Rules Governing Nursery, Primary and Secondary Schools and Functioning of School General Assembly and its Subsidiary Organs
Ministerial Order 3 of 2016
- Published in Official Gazette 3 on 18 January 2016
- Assented to on 8 January 2016
- Commenced on 18 January 2016
- [This is the version of this document from 18 January 2016.]
Chapter One
General provisions
Article One – Purpose of this Order
This Order determines general rules governing nursery, primary and secondary schools.It also determines modalities for the conduct of meetings of members of the School General Assembly, the School General Assembly Committee and those of the Audit Committee as well as modalities for their election, their term of office and decision-making procedures.Article 2 – School internal rules and regulations
Each nursery, primary or secondary school shall have its own internal rules and regulations.The internal rules and regulations of a school shall determine everything about teaching and learning, moral values that must characterize the students and discipline of staff, students and parents.Chapter II
General rules governing nursery, primary and secondary schools
Section One – School establishment
Article 3 – Establishment of a public school
A nursery, primary or secondary public school shall be established by the District, which shall also assign it a name based on the report of a Public Agency in charge of education quality in nursery, primary and secondary education and in accordance with the District school map.Article 4 – Establishment of a Government subsidized school
A Government subsidized nursery, primary and secondary school, shall be established and assigned the name in accordance with the agreement, the report of a Public Agency in charge of quality education in nursery, primary and secondary education and in accordance with the District school map.Article 5 – Establishment of a private school
A private nursery, primary and secondary school shall be established by its owner, who shall also assign the name in accordance with the report of a Public Agency in charge of education quality in nursery, primary and secondary education and the school map of the District.Article 6 – Requesting authorization to open a private school
The request for authorization to open a nursery, primary or secondary private school shall be made in writing by the owner of the school to the Public Agency in charge of education quality, with a copy to the Mayor of the District in which the school is locatedArticle 7 – Required documents for opening a private school
The letter of request for authorization to open a private school shall be accompanied by the following documents:1°identification of the owner when he/she is a physical person or legal personality when it is a legal entity;2°list of required teaching staff and other employees indicating their qualifications;3°land title and detailed document describing buildings, materials and equipment related to the training to be given by the school;4°details on the conditions of admission for pupils/students and on the teaching programs that shall be followed by the school;5°number of students anticipated and the initial cycles of education to start with;6°document indicating the initial annual budget and the source of funds;7°any other necessary document that may be required by the Public Agency in charge of the education qualitySection 2 – Learning and teaching
Article 8 – Students admission modalities
Nursery, primary and secondary schools shall admit students without any discrimination.Without prejudice to the provisions of the Paragraph One of this Article, a school with special-purpose may be authorized to admit only students of same sex or religion.This authorization for admitting only students of same sex or religion shall be issued by the Public Agency in charge of education quality in nursery, primary and secondary education.Article 9 – School year
The school academic year for nursery, primary and secondary schools shall be divided into three (3) terms separated by holidays. It shall at least be equal to thirty-two (32) full weeks of courses.Article 10 – Starting new school year
Prior to the starting of each new school year, a statement of the Minister in charge of education shall determine the school academic calendar.Article 11 – Approval of school curriculum
The curricula of nursery, primary and secondary schools shall be prepared by the Public Agency in charge of Curricula and be approved by the Minister in charge of education.Article 12 – Promotion, repetition, dismissal and transfer
Modalities for promotions, repetition, dismissal and transfers in nursery, primary and secondary schools shall be determined by an instruction of the Minister in charge of education.Article 13 – Students file
Each student shall have a file established by the School Headmaster and updated each year.The file of a student shall indicate his /her identification, grade, school performance and conduct.The School Headmaster must take care of students’ records throughout the period in which the student is enrolled in the school. These files shall be kept in the archives of the school even when students are no longer in the school.Article 14 – Transfer of students’ file
When a student changes school, the Headmaster of the host school shall request the Headmaster of the previous school a copy of the file of the concerned student containing information on his/her academic performance and conduct.Article 15 – Authorization to consult the file of a student
Any authorized person who needs any information about the student shall have access to the folder containing the information.Article 16 – Absence from class
No student shall be absent without a valid reason. Any absence shall require permission of the Headmaster or his/her representative. The absence may be authorized or tolerated for valid reasons.Parents of the absent student without permission or without prior information to the Headmaster, shall urgently inform the Headmaster who shall verify the justification of absence.Article 17 – School report format
The school report format for nursery, primary and secondary education shall be determined by Rwanda Education Board (REB) or secondary schools.Section 3 – School property
Article 18 – School property management
The daily management of the school property shall remain the responsibility of the management of the school.The budget allocated by the Government to the public or government subsizided schools shall be used only for the purposes for which it was allocated for.The School Headmaster and the bursar shall be accountable for the use of funds and other resources of the school each quarter and whenever auditors and inspectors require.Article 19 – Monitoring of school property management
The School General Assembly Committee and the Audit Committee shall monitor the management of the entire property of the school and report to the General Assembly of the school.Chapter III
School General Assembly and its subsidiary organs
Section One – School General Assembly
Article 20 – Election of students members of the School General Assembly
The representatives of students in the School General Assembly - a boy and girl where possible - shall be elected by their peers by an absolute majority votes.Article 21 – Election of President and Vice President of the School General Assembly
Parents, members of the School General Assembly, shall elect from among themselves the President and the Vice President of the School General Assembly by absolute majority votes.Article 22 – Term of office for members of the School General Assembly
The President and the Vice President of the School General Assembly shall be elected for a term of office of two (2) years renewable only once.The representatives of the members of the General Assembly of the school students shall be elected for a term of office of two (2) years none renewable.Article 23 – Meeting of the School General Assembly
The School General Assembly shall meet in ordinary session twice (2) a year. It may meet in extraordinary session whenever necessary. It shall be convened by its President or Vice President if the President is absent or upon the request of one third (1/3) of its members.Invitations to ordinary meeting of the School General Assembly shall be delivered to each of the members of the School General Assembly at least fourteen (14) days prior to the ordinary meeting, and at least five (5) days before the extraordinary meeting. The invitation letter shall indicate the venue, the date, the time and the agenda of the meeting.The minutes of the School General Assembly meeting shall be jointly signed by its chairperson and the rapporteur and approved in the following meeting. A copy of approved minutes shall be sent within a period not exceeding fifteen (15) days from the date it is approved to the Executive Secretary of the Sector who, in turn, shall send it to the Mayor of the District.Article 24 – Decision making of the School General Assembly
The decisions of the School General Assembly shall be taken by voting and by absolute majority votes.The decisions of the School General Assembly shall be signed by all members present after the completion of the meeting and copy shall be sent in a period not exceeding five (5) days to the Executive Secretary of the Sector who, in turn, shall forward it to the Mayor of the District.Section 2 – School General Assembly Committee
Article 25 – Election of members of the School General Assembly Committee
Two (2) parents, members of the School General Assembly Committee shall be elected by their peers with the majority votes.The representatives of teachers in the School General Assembly Committee shall be elected by their peers by absolute majority votes.Article 26 – Term of office for members of the School General Assembly Committee
The parents and teachers members of the School General Assembly Committee shall be elected for a term of office of two (2) years renewable only once.Article 27 – Meeting of the Committee of the School General Assembly
The School General Assembly Committee shall meet once in a quarter and whenever necessary. It shall be convened by its President or Vice President if the President is absent or upon the request of one third (1/3) of its members.Invitation to ordinary meeting of the School General Assembly Committee shall be delivered to each member at least five (5) days prior to the ordinary meeting, and at least two (2) days before extraordinary meeting. The invitation letter shall indicate the venue, the date, the time and the agenda of the meeting.The minutes of School General Assembly Committee meeting shall be jointly signed by its chairperson and Rapporteur and approved in the following meeting. A copy of approved minutes shall be sent to the President of the School General Assembly within a period not exceeding two (2) days from the date it is approved.Article 28 – Decision making of the School General Assembly Committee
The decisions of the School General Assembly Committee shall be taken by voting and by the absolute majority votes.The decisions of the School General Assembly Committee shall be signed by all present members after the completion of the meeting and a copy shall be sent to the School General Assembly within a period not exceeding two (2) days.Section 3 – School Audit Committee
Article 29 – Election of members of the School Audit Committee
Parents, members of the School General Assembly, shall elect from among themselves the President and the Vice President of the School Audit Committee with the absolute majority votes.The representative of teachers in the School Audit Committee shall be elected by his/her peers with the absolute majority votes.Article 30 – Term of office for members of the School Audit Committee
The President and the Vice President of the School Audit Committee together with the teachers’ representative to the School Audit Committee shall be elected for a term of office of two (2) years renewable only once.Article 31 – Meeting of the School Audit Committee
The School Audit Committee shall meet twice (2) a quarter and whenever necessary. It shall be convened by its President or Vice President if the President is absent or at the request of one third (1/3) of its members.Invitations to ordinary meeting of the School Audit Committee shall be delivered to each member of the School Audit Committee at least five (5) days prior to the meeting and at least two (2) days for extraordinary meeting. The invitation letter shall indicate the venue, the date, the time and the agenda of the meeting.The minutes of the School Audit Committee meeting shall be signed by its chairperson and Rapporteur and approved in the following meeting. A copy of approved minutes shall be sent to the President of the School General Assembly within a period not exceeding two (2) days from the date it is approved.Article 32 – Decision making of the School Audit Committee
The decisions of the School Audit Committee shall be taken by voting with the absolute majority votes.The decisions of the School Audit Committee shall be signed by all present members after the completion of the meeting and a copy shall be sent to the President of the Scholl General Assembly in a period not exceeding two (2) days.Chapter IV
Final provisions
Article 33 – Repealing provision
All prior provisions contrary to this Order are hereby repealed.Article 34 – Commencement
This Order shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Rwanda.History of this document
18 January 2016 this version
Commenced
08 January 2016
Assented to