Despite government efforts Rwanda has one of the highest repetition efforts even in Africa, and no doubt ongoing sectarian violence has contributed to this. The school language of instruction is Kinyarwanda at primary level, and then French and English thereafter, and at University too. The period spent at primary school is nominally 6 years.
Known as the land of 1,000 hills, this country couldn't be further from the cliched African image of arid deserts and dry bush. Winding roads hug verdant slopes, every inch carved into fields with crops ranging from banana trees to maize. In the valleys are great sweeping tea plantations, rice fields and coffee groves.
Rwanda has many lakes. The largest, Lake Kivu, is located in the midst of the volcanic peaks in the Virunga Mountains and forms part of the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The lake has a surface area of 2,665 square kilometers (1,025 square miles) and reaches a maximum depth of 475 meters (1,558 feet).