Throughout their history, the educational institutions of Rwanda have been characterized in spite of political discontinuities, by the ideological and organisational control of schools by the Churches. Nevertheless the State has gradually extended its authority over education policy. But on financial grounds the state has never been able to do without the assistance of the dioceses and religious groups. After 1980, notable changes took place when basic schooling was prolonged, when the number of private colleges substantially increased and when the compulsory secondary boarding school was abolished. If previously the opposition between public and private was not very relevant, it became a fundamental factor, without being conflictual.