More than 250,000 primary school students in Rwanda have started taking their national exams as the country deals with a new wave of Covid-19.
Students who test positive for coronavirus will sit for the examinations in separate rooms, the education ministry has said.
Education Minister Valentine Uwamariya was quoted by the state broadcaster as saying that no cases had been reported so far amongst learners.
However, the ministry said those who will test positive for Covid-19 must be accompanied by a parent or carer to the exam centre.
A local news site shared pictures of the candidates:
PHOTOS:
The National Primary Leaving Examinations kick off across the country. A total of 254,678 candidates are expected to sit for their exams starting today.
Candidates who recently tested positive for COVID-19 will sit for their exams in isolation rooms. pic.twitter.com/BYy69C2Tji— Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA) (@rbarwanda) July 12, 2021
Education authorities have set up 1,021 examination centres across the country, almost 100 more from last year, to allow social distancing.
Rwandan health officials confirmed the presence of the Delta variant last week.
The country has been reporting an average of 800 new cases daily in the last four weeks.
The health minister said more critical cases and fatalities were being recorded in this new wave.
