User:Amakuru/Education
Education and health
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The Rwandan government provides free education in state-run schools for nine years - six years in primary school and three years following a common secondary school programme. The government plans to extend this by 2015 to also cover the final three years of secondary school, in line with the Millenium Development Goals.[1] Despite this, however, many poor children still fail to attend due to the necessity of purchasing uniforms and books and commitments at home.[2]
Most children have access to free, state-run schools or subsidised, private and religious facilities.[3] The educational system is a mixture of British and French precedents[4] with most instruction in English or French.[5] Cameroon has one of the highest school attendance rates in Africa.[3] Girls attend school less regularly than boys do because of cultural attitudes, domestic duties, early marriage and pregnancy, and sexual harassment. Although attendance rates are higher in the south,[3] a disproportionate number of teachers are stationed there, leaving northern schools chronically understaffed.[6]
The quality of healthcare is generally low.[7] Outside the major cities, facilities are often dirty and poorly equipped.[8] Endemic diseases include dengue fever, filariasis, leishmaniasis, malaria, meningitis, schistosomiasis, and sleeping sickness.[9] The HIV/AIDS seroprevalence rate is estimated at 5.4% for those aged 15–49,[10] although a strong stigma against the illness keeps the number of reported cases artificially low.[11] Traditional healers remain a popular alternative to Western medicine.[12]