Kigali day schools to close for six days during CHOGM to ease traffic
The Kigali Convention Centre in Rwanda. More than 100 hotels in Kigali and five conference venues have been earmarked to host the Commonwealth Heads of Governments (CHOGM). PHOTO | CYRIL NDEGEYA | NMG
Rwanda will temporarily close day schools in Kigali for six days to ease congestion in the city during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) scheduled for the next week.
“In order to ease traffic flow in the City of Kigali during CHOGM, and to avoid disruption to movement of day scholars and their teachers, the Ministry of Education would like to inform parents and students… all day schools in Kigali will be closed from 20th to 26th June 2022,” said Mr Gaspard Twagirayezu, Minister of State in charge of Primary and Secondary Education in a statement issued on Monday.
The Ministry also announced that the end of Term 3 exams for students will begin on June 27.
“Day students living in Kigali are encouraged to revise lessons or engage in self/distance learning at home while boarding students will remain in their respective school,” said Mr Twagirayezu.
So far over 40 heads of State have confirmed participation with up to 10,000 guests expected to descend on Kigali during the six days.
Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales who Heads the Commonwealth and his wife Duchess Camilla, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnston have confirmed participation. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is also expected in Kigali.
The confirmed venues to host CHOGM include the multimillion-dollar Kigali Convention Centre, which boasts a sitting capacity of 2,600 guests, and 650 parking spaces. The other is the Intare Arena located in Rusororo, which can host 2,316 delegates.
The Kigali Conference and Exhibition Village located in the city centre will also play host. It has previously been used for international events such as the World Economic Forum and African Development Bank (AfDB) meeting.
Hotels earmarked for the event include high-end Marriott, Serena, and M-Hotel.
