Category: Education

{Seven employees of Rwanda Natural Ressources Authority (RNRA) have been arrested over forging land documents.}

The spokesperson of National Prosecution, Faustin Nkusi has told IGIHE that they have started examining files of the seven RNRA employees.

“We are still questioning them.They are suspected of forging land documents and illegally changing names of land owners,” he said.

According to sources, the seven employees were arrested by police on 2nd September, 2016.

It is said that they are alleged to have illegally changed land title transfer into names of a person who used it to ask bank loan.

{Rwanda has today joined the rest of the world to mark International Literacy Day with a call for collaboration among parents, teachers, government and private organizations to help Rwanda achieve the target of having 100% literacy.}

The call was made by Dr. Joyce Musabe, the Head of Department of Curricula at Rwanda Education Board (REB) as she launched activities of literacy activities at Umubano Hotel which will involve a two-day book exhibition at Amahoro Petit Stade.

The ceremony was organized in collaboration with Rwanda Reads, an organization which provides teaching and learning materials in Kinyarwanda books as a way of helping students to grow the culture of reading.

“ Rwanda Reads has tremendously helped Rwandans in improving the literacy levels. Reading culture has a great role in the development of a country. The International Literacy Day was initiated to mobilize citizens of the world into supporting literacy rights for all,” she said.

This year’s theme is “Beyond School Walls, Promoting Reading in Homes & Communities”.

Rwanda Reads helps in various programs of promoting reading culture among the youth including support to book writers and public libraries.

Rwanda Reads is comprised of all organization supporting education in Rwanda including Save the Children, Unicef and Unesco among others.

{The Global Education Monitoring Report of United Nations Children Education Fund (UNESCO) in 2016 has indicated that Rwanda’s education has progressed compared to other poor countries.}

The report presented yesterday was based on 17 goals of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and concentrated on education as a key pillar with emphasis on quality education as a basis for facilitating the realization of other goals.

The report indicates that 98 % of Rwanda’s children have access to primary education while the rate stands at 50% in other poor African countries.

Previously primary school enrollment rose from 72.6% in 2000 to 96.5 % in 2012 while the completion rate rose from 22% in 2000 to 78.6% in 2012.

The UNESCO report shows that globally, over 25 million children have no access to education and 30 % from poor families never attend school. While presenting the report yesterday, Senior Statistician and Policy Analyst at UNESCO, Nicole Bella said that African countries are unwilling to invest in education as they perceive the sector as bringing no income which prompts them to reserve small budget for it.
She explained that Sub-Sahara African countries record a large number of children dropping out of school and little number of female students attending university courses.

Nicole commended Rwanda for the attained achievements in education sector but advised on improving quality education since in some cases the government lacks employees yet it has graduates with the desired knowledge.

The Minister of Education, Dr Musafiri Papias Malimba has said that Rwanda has a good position in the UNESCO report which made it one of four selected countries of the world where the Global Education Monitoring Report has to be presented.

“Rwanda was not selected at random but it was based on good performance in Millennium Development Goals including education for all. Rwanda scored 98% in the goal of primary education for all whereas some poor countries from other continents are under 50%,”he said.

“We must continue in ensuring education for all with quality at the fore, making sure graduates properly use acquired knowledge in solving problems of Rwandan society,” he added.

The coordinator of United Nations in Rwanda, Lamin Manneh has said that the government of Rwanda continues to demonstrate willingness in supporting education but urged schools to acquaint students with knowledge solving various problems of Rwandan society.

{Rwanda Education Board (REB) has announced that 7,469 have been granted bursary to attend the 2016/2017 academic year at the University of Rwanda. Over 10,000 did not get sponsorships for various reasons.}

Offering the students’ loans was based on three main criteria; scored marks take 40%, course to be studied at the university at 40% and Ubudehe category take the remaining 20% out the total 100%.

Students in science courses are supposed to get 60% while students from other courses have to get 46% out of the three criteria.

Desire Gacinya, head of scholarships department at REB has said that Ubudehe categories created arguments which pushed them to apply the new criteria.

“Some students would think Ubudehe categorization was the major yardstick for offering the bursaries. As we made reforms, we realized that Ubudehe category has to get a certain percentage among other criteria considered to offer the bursary. This is where a clever student from the first category with high marks going to study options needed by the government gets priority,” he said.

“For instance a student in the first category with 20 out of 20 and 40 out of 40 in the percentage of scored marks in senior six exam is bound to obtaining the bursary,” he added.

The Director of Rwanda education Board (REB), Janvier Gasana has said that the new policy of loan delivery will help to put much emphasis on students’ performance in class other than Ubudehe category.

“It means brightness will be prioritized and be matched with Ubudehe category,” he said.

“The first valued thing is student’s capacity of learning and scoring better marks. Others are considered later to increase chances of gaining the bursary.That is why we made such classification so that no poor student is left out over poverty while he/she is clever,” he added.

REB says that only 150 didn’t get bursary as they are in the Ubudehe category of rich people while others didn’t get the bursary over marks related reasons or having not fulfilled requirements.

REB says that determining the number of students to be sponsored is based on available budget . The number of sponsored students this year dropped to 7,469 from 12,000 last year.

{Today is the first day for Vérène Yankurwe at the Nyamiaga pre-primary school. She is in charge of Class Three for the children of age six. “As today is our first day, I explained to my students about basic habits like hand washing with soap after using the toilet,” she said. “Now we are going to play and sing together.”}

Vérène is one of over 900 pre-primary teachers who have received training on play-based learning as part of a program to upgrade and strengthen the skills of pre-primary school teachers throughout the country, particularly on early childhood education.

Find out more about our education work

Since 2014, the Ministry of Education, Rwandan Education Board (REB), Unicef and International Education Exchange (IEE) have organized more than 40 workshops for pre-primary teachers throughout the country. These teachers are responsible for the early childhood education of approximately 30,000 children between the ages of four to six.

These photos show the how young students and teachers at Nyamiaga pre-primary school are taking a play-based aproach to learning:

Jehovanice, six, is in Class Three. Her mother, Francoise, brought her to school today for the first time and tells Vérène, “I like the school because I know my child can learn many things in a fun way. They sing, they draw and they play. The school has good facilities too.”

Laurence invites all her class to the covered play space. She is teaching children counting and naming body parts with the help of a baby doll. “Where are the ears, and how many of them do we have?” asks Laurence. Then all the students raise hands to get a chance to answer before five-year-old Florence stands up to answer.

Play builds motivation and engagement in learning. It allows children to be active participants in their education. Learning through play is important in creating high-quality learning environments that prepare children to succeed in school, lead productive lives and contribute to the peace and prosperity of their families and communities. Unicef supported the development of the play-based pre-primary curriculum, which was launched in April 2015 in alignment with the new competency-based pre-primary curriculum.

“Pre-primary education is a priority for Rwanda, said Graham Lang, Interim Chief of Education, Unicef Rwanda. “The results of the teacher trainings in play-based learning is bearing fruit and we are encouraged to continue supporting these initiatives.”

{Worries of quality education have been raised by parliamentarians as they queried continued employment of foreigners including teachers while many Rwandans remain jobless.}

The concern was raised on Wednesday as parliamentarians discussed with four ministries having youth under their docket over programs aimed at enabling the youth to find or create jobs.

The four stakeholders include the Ministry of Youth and ICT, the Ministry of Public Service and Labour, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Trade and Industry along with other institutions responsible for youth.

“I have a concern related to quality education. Some jobs need recruitment of foreigners to operate in Rwanda including hotels. Why aren’t such jobs offered to Rwandans. It is a matter of quality education,” said one parliamentarian.

“What is the quality of education of our vocational training schools? What is the capacity of their teachers? There are job opportunities but the problem is quality of education,” he added.

Talking on such concerns, the Minister of Education, Dr.Papias Musafiri Malimba said “Regarding the matter of quality education, I would like to consent with parliamentarians for raised concerns. Today a person can’t confirm that Rwanda has commendable quality education competing in the region or internationally.”

Minister Musafiri explained that education quality is a journey.

He said that entrepreneurship skills must be given much emphasis in Rwanda’s education since every course has the potential of creating a job.

“To fill the gap we need to reform teaching methodology and change perceptions, “said Minister Musafiri.

He explained that students should embrace the spirit of competitiveness so they can seek for opportunities beyond Rwanda’s borders.

Teaching methodology, offered courses, available classes, lecturers, competitiveness of students’ acquired knowledge locally or internationally, the way graduates undertake research among other criteria of United Nations Education Fund (UNESCO) are considered in gauging education standards.

{Mahatma Gandhi University, a leading University in online and distance education has initiated “one laptop per student” initiative to enhance academic experience and the use of technology in higher education.}

The move was officially announced yesterday at Kabuga Campus in Kigali.

Mahatma Gandhi University won several awards including the “excellence in distance education by SOE Global Education”, “best innovation in open and distance learning in the 2012 World Education Summit” and is taking a bold step in providing branded laptop for each student as part of its commitment in advancing the interest of President Paul Kagame’s Vision 2020 in setting ICT as a fundamental pillar of the Country’s strategy for nation-building.

Talking on the initiative, the newly appointed Provost of Mahatma Gandhi University, Dr. Vince Sinining said : “We recognize the cost of investing one laptop per student but this is one of our major corporate social responsibilities to provide our students, most of whom cannot afford to purchase a laptop, access to tools that are necessary in enhancing their academic experience and professional development.”

“We are proud of the investment by our Chancellor, Dr. Rajan Chopra, in purchasing laptops for all our students, and in acquiring this multi-million dollar vast property and facilities here in Kabuga to provide a conducive environment to our students, not only in our online and distance education programs, but in our future face-to-face, on campus programs. We continue to maximize the potential of ICT in providing our students better academic experience as we continue our responsibilities as an institution of higher learning here in Rwanda,” added Dr. Varun Gupta, the Director of Mahatma Gandhi University.

Provost Dr. Vince Sinining also announced the 100 Scholarships from Chancellor Dr. Rajan Chopra that will be awarded to deserving individuals, teachers, government and private sector employees as well as special ICT and skills-based training programs for girls and women.

Uwase Adelphine, the Gasabo district officer in charge of education commended the initiative saying it will acquaint students with wide knowledge especially those who couldn’t afford laptops. She explained that offering laptops matches with government’s program of promoting technology and requested Mahatma Gandhi University to keep up efforts aimed at promoting quality education.

{Nyagatare district in collaboration with Rwanda Development Board have launched 12 classrooms at Gatebe School to reduce overpopulated classes.}

The school used modern classrooms since 2011 but faced the problem of inadequate classrooms hampering children’ studies.

The 12 classrooms were constructed between 2010 to 2015 under the program of Tourism Revenue Sharing Scheme introduced by RDB to support the population in development activities from earned touristic revenues.

Twizihirwe Diogene, a teacher at Gatebe School said that the new facility will reduce the number of tudents accommodated in one room from 150 to 100.

Today Gatebe School accommodates 1296.

Bumbakare Faustin, the headmaster of Gatebe School commended construction activities but requested support to introduce secondary section to reduce the distance of as long as 16 kilometers that some students walk to access secondary schools.

RBD expects to inaugurate other schools built under Revenue Sharing scheme in Nyamasheke district and Nyabihu district from Western Province.

RDB started sharing 5% of tourism revenues with communities around parks in 2005.
Tourism earned Rwf 318,000,000 in 2015.

Today communities around Virunga National Park receive 40% of tourism revenues allocated to Rwandans while remaining communities receive 60%.