A total of 7,188 Rwandan pupils will retake their primary school leaving examinations from Sept. 2 to 4 after an investigation found widespread cheating in 254 examination rooms across the country.
The Ministry of Education announced the decision on Sunday, Aug. 30, saying the pupils had been given another opportunity after investigators found that adults had been involved in facilitating some of the malpractice.
Education Minister Joseph Nsengimana said in an interview with Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA) on Sunday that authorities had considered cancelling the affected examinations, as provided for under examination rules, but decided against it after taking into account the involvement of adults.
“Because of the involvement of adults, particularly, that is why we made the decision to protect these children and give them an opportunity to sit for other examinations again,” Nsengimana said.
The pupils will sit five papers over three days. The National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA) is expected to publish the timetable, examination centres and other instructions on Monday, Aug. 31.
Their results are expected by Sept. 11, allowing them to start the new academic year on Sept. 14, one week after other pupils.
Nsengimana said the decision was an exceptional measure intended to prevent the affected pupils from losing an entire academic year.
“They will have lost one week, but losing one week is better than losing an entire year,” he said.
The Primary Leaving Examinations were held nationwide from July 7 to 9.
NESA Director General Dr Bernard Bahati said the pupils were identified through two main methods. Some were caught cheating while sitting the examinations, while others were identified during marking after examiners found identical answers among candidates in the same examination room.
In some cases, pupils from different schools had submitted the same incorrect answers, prompting further investigation.
The investigation has also extended to adults suspected of facilitating the malpractice. Some have already been questioned, while others are expected to be questioned.
MINEDUC said anyone found to have planned, facilitated, participated in or deliberately ignored the cheating would face sanctions under the law.
The ministry is also introducing tighter supervision for future examinations. Each examination room will have two invigilators from different schools, it said.
“This culture of cheating and facilitating cheating must end completely,” the ministry said.
More than 277,000 pupils sat the 2025/26 Primary Leaving Examinations, with an overall pass rate of 88.21%, up from 75.6% in the previous academic year.
MINEDUC has urged parents and teachers to support the affected pupils as they prepare for the retake and reassure them ahead of the examinations.
