Rwanda’s private-school sector is facing renewed pressure, but the widely circulated claim that private schools are closing simply because the country’s free public schools have become “too good” needs important context.
In December 2024, Rwanda’s National Examination and School Inspection Authority (NESA) ordered 62 privately owned schools to stop operating from the second term of the 2024/25 academic year. The affected schools were largely kindergartens, and officials said they had failed to meet minimum requirements for accreditation, infrastructure, equipment and the quality of the learning environment. More than 780 schools had been inspected before the decision was taken.
That is different from saying the schools were shut because public schools had outperformed them. In fact, Rwanda’s latest education statistics show that private schools remain a substantial part of the system. The 2024/25 Education Statistical Yearbook recorded 4,996 schools nationally, including 1,337 private schools, while the total number of schools increased from 4,986 the previous year. The report also says 3,403 classrooms were added during the year, reducing the national pupil-to-classroom ratio from 52 to 51.
Still, there is a real story behind the viral claim. For years, Rwanda’s expansion of affordable basic education has changed the choices facing families. As public and government-aided schools expanded, parents who once had little option but to pay private-school fees gained access to lower-cost alternatives closer to home. Brandspur Brand News reports that this shift has previously left some private schools struggling to fill classrooms, pay staff and maintain their facilities.
The human cost became particularly visible in Gakenke District, where Collège Nkunduburezi, once supported by parents and a source of business for people living around the school, eventually became idle after students moved to government schools. Residents told local media that the closure affected more than teachers and school owners. Landlords who rented rooms to students lost tenants, nearby shops lost customers and farmers who sold produce to the school community lost a market.
For parents, however, the attraction of the public system is easier to understand. When a family can send a child to a nearby school without carrying the same level of fees charged by a private institution, the decision can come down to household survival rather than ideology. Rwanda’s 12-Year Basic Education policy helped widen access to public and government-aided schooling, while the state invested in classrooms, teachers and other facilities.
The pressure has not meant that private schools have become irrelevant. Quite the opposite. Rwanda’s 2024/25 national examination results showed private schools producing a large share of the country’s top-performing pupils. Private-school candidates dominated the highest positions in the Primary Leaving Examination and Ordinary Level results, although the Education Ministry also said public-school performance was improving and announced remedial support for learners who needed additional help.
That creates a more complicated picture than the social-media message suggests. Rwanda’s public schools are expanding their reach and improving their capacity, giving more families an affordable alternative. At the same time, some private schools continue to demonstrate strong academic performance and remain attractive to parents looking for particular facilities, teaching approaches or learning environments.
The latest figures also show that private education has not simply disappeared under public-sector competition. The number of private primary schools rose from 820 in 2023/24 to 859 in 2024/25, according to the Ministry of Education’s statistical yearbook.
What has changed is the market in which those schools operate. A private school can no longer assume that parents will pay simply because the alternative is a crowded government classroom. Families have more choices, while regulators are demanding that schools meet minimum standards.
For school owners, that means higher pressure to provide qualified teachers, adequate facilities and convincing academic results. For parents, it means a potentially difficult but welcome calculation: whether paying private-school fees delivers enough additional value to justify the cost when an expanding public system is available.
So, while Rwanda has a documented history of private schools struggling after students moved towards cheaper public and government-aided education, the latest evidence does not support the sweeping claim that private schools are currently closing because public schools have become too good to compete with. Some have been ordered to close for failing regulatory standards, while others continue to operate and some are producing the country’s best examination results.
