The Minister of Youth and Arts Development, Dr. Utumatwishima Jean Nepo Abdallah, has announced that in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, a special program will be introduced to help school dropouts complete their studies within one year, take national exams, and obtain secondary school diplomas if they pass.
He made this statement during a meeting on youth employment promotion, held on March 5, 2025, in Huye District. The meeting brought together youth representatives from the Southern Province and other officials.
Minister Dr. Utumatwishima stated that under the NST2 program, which runs until 2029, the government aims to create 250,000 jobs annually, with contributions from all sectors.
He emphasized that while not everyone can be an entrepreneur, everyone should acquire skills that enable them to earn a living.
“In the next five years, for jobs to be created, we realized that we must have many educated Rwandans who possess basic knowledge,” he said.
“We are working with MINEDUC, MIFOTRA, and MINALOC to establish a program called ‘Secondary Plus’ for youth who dropped out of school, especially those who wished to complete secondary education but were unable to do so due to various challenges. This initiative will allow them to finish their studies in one year while also acquiring vocational skills to help them create job opportunities.”
Minister Dr. Utumatwishima also mentioned other youth development programs, including ‘Aguka Skilling,’ which supports young people in developing business projects. This year, the program will train 1,500 youth, and the top 100 participants will each receive $3,000 in funding to start their businesses.
Additionally, efforts will be intensified to expand the Youth Connekt program to reach as many young people as possible.
According to MINEDUC, the student dropout rate decreased from 8.5% in the 2021/2022 academic year to 6.8% in 2022/2023.
The statistics indicate that 5.5% of primary school students dropped out, while 10.5% of lower secondary (Tronc Commun) students left school. In upper secondary schools, the dropout rate stood at 4.5%.
