1
French and bilingual balance
15 mentions
This is the most frequently named single improvement ask among parents. The recurring complaint is that English dominates day-to-day teaching and communication while French — and to a lesser extent Kinyarwanda — lags, leaving children more fluent in English than French and, in some cases, "forgetting" French. It cuts across promoters, passives and detractors and across grade bands, making it the clearest improvement priority parents want addressed.
“Have a school bus but at a fair cost.. put more effort in teaching french and kids be able to speak confidently”Parent, Passive (NPS 8), Pre-Primary
“Improve on the French learning system”Parent, Promoter (NPS 10), Pre-Primary
“Languages are not balanced.. English is dominant in the school Discipline policy should be revised.”Parent, Detractor (NPS 6), Pre-Primary
2
Food, meals and the menu
13 mentions
The school meal is a prominent improvement target. Parents ask for more variety beyond a repeating weekly menu, better quality and preparation, and raise concerns that some children get sick when school reopens. Children also wish to eat the same food as teachers. It is voiced across all segments and grades.
“The children say they miss enjoying the same food as teachers”Parent, Promoter (NPS 9), Upper Primary
“Food and Restrooms Also Intervention for students everyday activities like a diary notebook where you share what happened during day and as parent we look into it.”Parent, Passive (NPS 8), Upper Primary
“Cooking”Parent, Detractor (NPS 6), Pre-Primary
3
Academic support, follow-up and individual attention
13 mentions
Parents ask for more individualised follow-up and targeted help — especially in subjects where a child struggles, such as Maths and French — plus clearer reporting of each child's progress and challenges.
“For me I would like the school to improve in supporting the children strangling with a different subjects”Parent, Promoter (NPS 9), Upper Primary
“The quality of teaching”Parent, Promoter (NPS 9), Pre-Primary
“would suggest improving activities that help children learn while enjoying school, and increasing individual follow-up for each child so they can progress bet”Parent, Passive (NPS 8), Lower Primary
4
Extracurriculars, field trips and external learning
10 mentions
Parents ask for more enrichment beyond the classroom — varied field trips matched to grade and curriculum, school competitions, reading culture and a stocked borrowing library.
“Introduction of debate foster public speaking from grade 4-6,introduction of pharo boarding secondary school,strengthening reading culture.”Parent, Promoter (NPS 9), Pre-Primary
“Have more external learning trips for the children.”Parent, Promoter (NPS 10), Lower Primary
“Participate in many school competitions”Parent, Promoter (NPS 10), Lower Primary
5
Facilities, space, classroom comfort and heat
9 mentions
Parents ask for better and bigger facilities — more classrooms, playground space, ventilation, and especially shade to cool afternoon classrooms that "bake" the children. Smaller class sizes in nursery recur here too. The theme is voiced across segments, with the heat/shade concern raised pointedly by detractors.
“The classroom environment and space for co curricular activities so children can play well together”Parent, Promoter (NPS 10), Lower Primary
“Shade over classrooms Grade 2 to Grade 5 to reduce heat in classrooms in the afternoon”Parent, Detractor (NPS 5), Pre-Primary
“infrastructure”Parent, Passive (NPS 8), Pre-Primary
6
Discipline, values and behaviour management
9 mentions
A cluster of parents want discipline and moral values strengthened or revised — establishing a consistent "Pharo way," managing children who disrespect others, and reviewing what stories, songs and language children are exposed to. Voiced across segments and grades, with some seeing discipline as taken too lightly.
“The displine of the children is taken lightly”Parent, Detractor (NPS 5), Lower Primary
“In Discipline and teach kids responsabilities matters”Parent, Passive (NPS 8), Lower Primary
“The school should make serious efforts on what language kids use since most of the kids come from different environments . Eg some kids use terrible words that are not good for kids”Parent, Promoter (NPS 10), Pre-Primary
7
Transport / school bus
8 mentions
A clear, frequently repeated ask is for school transport — most often a bus, sometimes "at a fair cost" — explicitly linked by some to the fuel crisis and the difficulty of pick-up/drop-off. It spans promoters and passives across grades.
“Transport”Parent, Promoter (NPS 10), Pre-Primary
“The transport, putting for us a bus”Parent, Promoter (NPS 9), Lower Primary
“School Transport”Parent, Passive (NPS 8), Upper Primary
8
School calendar, breaks and timings
6 mentions
Parents raise the school calendar — long/early holidays, too many breaks eating into learning time, an early start time, and preschoolers' sleep/nap time.
“in the morning will be better if there some teachers to receive the kids!most of the time there is no one at the gate.”Parent, Promoter (NPS 10), Lower Primary
“1. You send away kids in all holidays so earlier than others schools, please review your school calender accordingly 2. Kids always lost staffs at school and we request that teachers follow up and help them to take care of that.”Parent, Passive (NPS 8), Lower Primary
“It seems to me the school takes too many and too long breaks. Taking off from the days the children should in class and learning”Parent, Passive (NPS 7), Lower Primary
9
Safety, safeguarding and physical discipline
5 mentions
A small but serious set of concerns about child safety — an evacuation/fire-safety gap, bruises and injuries, unsafe play surfaces, and reports of physical discipline (slapping, tapping with pens, pinching). These come mostly from Pre- and Lower Primary parents and, though some are promoters writing "in the spirit of partnership," they carry the highest safeguarding weight of any theme.
“I would like to respectfully bring the following concerns to the school’s attention regarding the preschool environment and safety standards, with the hope of contributing to further improvements in the quality of care and learning provided to the children: 1. There does not appear to be a clear evacuation plan for the building in case of emergencies. The kitchen is located directly next to the main exit door, which may present a safety concern. In addition, both children and teachers do not appear to have received adequate training on emergency evacuation procedures in the event of a fire. The secondary exit door is reportedly not allowed to be used, which could create additional risks during emergencies. 2. My child has come home with bruises on two separate occasions, which is concerning and requires closer supervision and safeguarding measures. 3. Communication between the school and parents is very limited, despite repeated requests emphasizing the importance of regular and effective communication regarding the children’s wellbeing and daily activities. 4. The classroom seems to lack sufficient educational and recreational materials, such as children’s toys and visual learning books. It also lacks proper ventilation in the classroom environment. Plus, lack of television or screen-based educational resource available for preschool learning activities. I am sharing these observations in good faith and with appreciation for the efforts of the school staff.”Parent, Promoter (NPS 10), Pre-Primary
“Children safety”Parent, Passive (NPS 8), Pre-Primary
“Security of child”Parent, Promoter (NPS 10), Pre-Primary
10
Communication speed and reporting
4 mentions
Some parents, while praising communication overall, want it faster and more consistent — quicker updates and more regular sharing of what children are doing.
“Best education”Parent, Promoter (NPS 10), Pre-Primary
“The school should improve communication speed and provide more extracurricular activities and learning resources for students”Parent, Promoter (NPS 10), Pre-Primary
“Communication”Parent, Detractor (NPS 5), Pre-Primary
11
Fees, hidden costs and the late-pickup charge
4 mentions
A pointed minority object to school fees and, more sharply, to surprise charges layered on top — money asked for activities, exercise books, outings, plus the RWF 10,000 late-pickup penalty. The longest, most intense critiques in the dataset sit here; while raised by passives and one promoter, the tone is markedly aggrieved and several speak "on behalf of other parents."
“They should increase schoolfees after 2 years”Parent, Promoter (NPS 9), Lower Primary
“As mentioned above, we kindly request the introduction of public transport for the children, improvement in the level of French teaching, and a reduction in school fees.”Parent, Passive (NPS 8), Lower Primary
“Asking money for every little activity, training, outing, and the like on top of the already high level of fees is a little absurd. The exercise books should not be sold, by given to the students by the school which I thought was already paid for atthe beginning of the year. Lots of surprise fees and payments is not good at all. You should let parents at the beginning of the year what amounts are expected of parents through the school year, not only so we can prepare for it, but also to make an informed decision as to whether its the right school to enroll our children into. Honestly, I feel cheated on this aspect. If anything, please improve on this area and introduce transparency. If children's activities are pre-planned, you should mention that at the start of the year with estimated amount of fees. If they're not, then I wonder if anything is planned at all. I hope you take this as a constructive opinion and not a complaint. I may be speaking not on my behalf but of other parents. Thank you.”Parent, Passive (NPS 7), Lower Primary
12
Parking and traffic at pick-up
2 mentions
A specific facilities sub-concern raised by multiple parents is parking — insufficient parking, traffic flow at pick-up, and using the shade as a waiting area rather than the ground.
“Avail sufficient parking , to facilitate continous engagement between teachers and parents. Utilisation of the shade as the waiting area rather than sitting on the ground”Parent, Passive (NPS 8), Lower Primary
“Their parking in the evening when picking up kids preferably put it back in the space behind pre nursery as it eases traffic flow because of other schools in Kimihurura”Parent, Promoter (NPS 9), Pre-Primary
13
Hygiene and cleanliness
2 mentions
A focused concern about cleanliness — classrooms in nursery that sometimes smell bad and general hygiene.
“Cleanliness and hygiene in nursery, because sometimes the classrooms smell very bad.”Parent, Passive (NPS 8), Pre-Primary
“Hygiène”Parent, Promoter (NPS 10), Pre-Primary
14
Materials, toys and learning resources
2 mentions
Parents want more resources — toys, fans, TVs/screens, and richer learning materials, particularly in the early years.
“1.”Parent, Detractor (NPS 3), Pre-Primary
“You have to continue to support kids in order to increase capacity of thinking as well as you do.”Parent, Promoter (NPS 10), Pre-Primary
15
Equity in media/photo participation
2 mentions
Two parents raise that the same children keep appearing in school photos/videos while others never feature, which they feel harms excluded children's confidence and self-image.
“Children participation on the media outlets should be equal, not to select children only, as it creates a gap on our Children's psychology because they think they are not good enough.”Parent, Passive (NPS 7), Lower Primary
“1. Different learners sign photos consent form but most of the time I see same learners come back in videos or photos that advertise the school and yet some haven’t participated even once. I would recommend the school to engage different learners and this will not only be seen well in parents and clients, this is helping kids to develop self confidence.(there is an improvement from last year but you still bring back some) It’s not only about advertising the school it’s about building the child’s capacity to address the community.”Parent, Passive (NPS 7), Upper Primary
16
Teacher pay and welfare
1 mention
A single parent frames the most important improvement as raising teachers' salaries — echoing the dominant staff concern from the parent side.
“Increase the teachers SALARIES”Parent, Passive (NPS 7), Pre-Primary
17
Teacher gift-giving culture and appreciation week
1 mention
One detailed concern is the pressure parents feel around teacher-appreciation gifts and the inequity of only homeroom teachers receiving them.
“I have observed some teachers getting gifts during teacher appreciation week but some do not get it not because they are bad teachers but because they are not home room teachers. As a parent these things of giving gifts put us on pressure because if your child see others giving gifts, he comes asking you money to buy gifts and once you don’t have it you wonder how your child will feel if they don’t give gifts. It also doesn’t provide assurance that learners who didn’t give gifts will be safe and supported well like that one who has done and you choose to send for only homeroom teacher because you can’t get it for all teachers. It has even come to another level that some teachers remind children to bring them gifts because the appreciation week is happening. My recommendation is: can you plan this well that is not only few teachers will get gifts? For example you can tell parents that whoever want to appreciate the teachers in their week should bring the gift in terms of money and bring it at the office so the school can decide the gifts to all teachers not just one. And here it will not be necessary to know who brought and who didn’t. Otherwise you are putting us on pressure and we don’t feel safe with that culture of giving gifts. Thanks for your consideration”Parent, Passive (NPS 7), Upper Primary
18
Communicating negative news about the child
1 mention
One parent objects specifically to how the school delivers negative information about their child.
“Delivery of negative info about my child!!!”Parent, Promoter (NPS 10), Pre-Primary
19
Confident speaking
1 mention
A short ask for more confident speaking from children.
“Comfindent speaking”Parent, Promoter (NPS 10), Lower Primary
20
Restrooms and a daily diary
1 mention
Restrooms and a shared daily-activity diary are named (alongside food) by one parent.
“Restrooms”Parent, Passive (NPS 8), Upper Primary
Noted, not themed: Already satisfied / keep it up (8); Not yet able to comment (2).
