Crunching numbers in Gitarama

July 8th

After the weekend away it’s back to work today. I make a business like start and by lunchtime I’ve virtually processed all the Tronc Commun results for last year. They show some interesting variations. The Petit Séminaire absolutely trounces all the other schools; it’s top of the league in every individual subject as well as overall. But then it is a fee paying, private, boys’ only Catholic school, so I suppose there aren’t that many distractions for them. What is more surprising is that the Islamic Girls school has the worst results in the district. The girls school is lavishly funded from Saudi Arabia, and is the only secondary in all of Muhanga to have a staff of 100% qualified teachers. Goodness knows what’s going wrong there – are they spending too much time praying, or persuading the girls that all men are potential evil rapists and their only purpose in life is to make diligent wives and mothers? I don’t think so – I think this place needs an Inspection visit early next term!

In the evening Tom texts me to say he’s eating out at Tranquillité with a new colleague from work, and would I like to come. I’ve already had lunch at the café, so it’s twice in a day eating out for me. You can tell my pay cheque’s just come through! What’s interesting is talking to Ernest, another of Tom’s colleagues and a Rwandan. He confirms that there really are matatas which drive up all the way to Nyabinoni and Rongi secteurs, but only one or so a day and not every day of the week. I’ll have to make enquiries at the bus park, but it begins to look as though my plans for visiting the far north schools may be viable after all!

It’s been a long, hard slog at work today, entering data carefully and checking for bétises which would undermine my conclusions. I’m too tired to watch a video, so play some Congolese music and spend the evening finishing off some upper secondary data input. Talk about back to work with a vengeance!

By half past nine I’m really tired and quite ready to fall into bed.

Worst thing about today – I still haven’t got the viruses sorted out on my laptop. Must make that tomorrow’s priority.