Nature of Schools and Academic Performance of Pupils in Primary Schools of Gasabo District, Rwanda

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between the nature of schools and the academic performance of pupils in primary schools in Gasabo district, Rwanda. Specifically the study wanted to (i) compare the academic performance of pupils in public and private primary schools in Gasabo district Rwanda; (ii) to establish the effect of availability of school facilities on pupils’ academic performance and (iii) to establish the effect of teacher Quality on pupils’ academic performance in Gasabo district Rwanda. The study was done by developing a conceptual framework relating the nature of schools to pupils’ academic performance. Using a descriptive cross-sectional survey design, data were collected from 40 teacher and 10 head teacher using questionnaires and interview guide as the main data collection instruments. Also data on PLE results for 300 pupils in the selected primary schools was obtained which was used in comparing pupils’ performance in the two categories of schools. Data were analyzed using frequency tables and summary statistics and lastly using t-test in comparing pupils’ performance in private and public primary schools in Gasabo. The study revealed that there is a difference in the academic performance of pupils in public and private primary pupils in Gasabo district with pupils in private primary schools performing batter than their counterparts. School facilities and teacher quality were also found to be affecting academic performance in Gasabo district. The recommendations of the study were (i) Government providing public and private subsidized primary schools with required facilities so as to create in them a welcoming environment for teaching/learning process, (ii) the Ministry of education should reduce the bureaucracy in the school administration, allowing public schools to diversify their sources of funding (iii) Politicians and other officials of Rwanda should also keep monitoring and evaluating the quality of public education in primary schools and take general decision in favor of all citizens of Rwanda as far as education is concerned and (iv) the value of a teacher’s quality in terms of experience, qualification, ability to prepare for lessons should be honored and compensated in order to give teachers the motivation to adequately do their jobs and support pupils learning to improve on their performance.