Rwanda audit finds widespread underuse of school textbooks

The audit found that despite significant government spending on textbooks, many remain unused in school storage rooms.

Between 2022 and 2025, more than 3 million textbooks were distributed to primary and secondary schools. However, inspections in 43 schools showed that many books were not being used effectively.

According to the report, textbooks for subjects including Kinyarwanda, mathematics and English were used at rates ranging between 29% and 49% in primary schools and lower secondary classes.

The audit also identified major delays in delivering books to schools. About 396,000 textbooks intended for nursery school teachers remained in storage for months, with delays reaching 397 days. Another 616,000 textbooks for primary and secondary schools were still in warehouses after more than eight months, with delays of up to 240 days.

“These delays caused many schools to continue lacking textbooks for teaching and learning,” Auditor General Alexis Kamuhire said.

In technical and vocational schools, the report found that the issue was not a shortage of materials but failure to use them. Nearly 197 out of 336 training manuals uploaded online had never been used by teachers.

The Auditor General attributed the problems mainly to weak systems for distributing textbooks and monitoring their use. The Rwanda Basic Education Board and the Rwanda TVET Board were urged to strengthen oversight and ensure textbooks reach classrooms and are properly used.