The award ceremony took place during the National Bank of Rwanda 2023 Research Conference held at Kigali Convention Centre on June 1, 2023.
The March 2023 Master of Science in Economics graduate, whose research was titled, “Drivers of inflation during the pandemic: evidence from disaggregated consumption,” beat competitors from University of Rwanda and Kigali Independent University (ULK).
The winner and runner up were awarded laptops and government bonds by the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR).
Another University of Kigali Master of Science in Economics graduate of March 2023, Moses Mudaheranwa emerged among the 6 finalists and was awarded a certificate. The competition had 26 participants enrolled from the three participating Universities; University of Kigali, University of Rwanda and Kigali independent University.
The award ceremony took place during the National Bank of Rwanda 2023 Research conference held at the Kigali Convention Centre. Speaking during the conference, the National Bank of Rwanda Governor revealed that the inaugural research competition targeted a cohort of postgraduate students enrolled in accredited postgraduate programs in economics in Rwanda.
The supervisors, Dr. Afolabi Luqman and Dr. Kabanda Richard, University of Kigali Graduate School faculty in economics were also recognized. The Dean Graduate School, Dr. Kwena Ronald who was also present during the conference and award ceremony, appreciated the Faculty for mentorship of the students.
He noted that the School is privileged to have such highly qualified academic staff. Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, Dr. Kwena Ronald, the Dean Graduate School revealed that the University of Kigali Graduate School has shifted its focus to producing quality research. “This achievement shows the results of the quality of research we are targeting to produce,” he emphasized.
The competition was aimed at bridging the gap between academia and applied research hence creating a pool of young economists capable of contributing to evidence – based policymaking in Rwanda’s economic development.
Founded last year by T4 Education and HP in collaboration with Microsoft, the Africa Education Medal is Africa’s most prestigious education accolade.
The Africa Education Medal was established to recognise the tireless work of those who are transforming education across the continent – to celebrate the stories of those who have lit the spark of change so others will be inspired to take up the torch. It is given to an outstanding individual who has demonstrated impact, leadership, and advocacy in the field of education.
Rogers Patrick Kamugisha is the Country Director of Educate! in Rwanda, the largest youth skills provider in East Africa. Educate! tackles youth unemployment by partnering with schools and governments to equip young people in Africa with the skills to attain further education, overcome gender inequities, start businesses, get jobs, and drive development in their communities.
Hailed as a visionary leader, Kamugisha is an educator and an economist with over 10 years’ experience working in the Rwandan education system. He joined Educate! in 2015 to support its launch in Rwanda and subsequently assisted the organisation’s expansion into Kenya and Tanzania. He now oversees a team of 50 working tirelessly to implement Educate!’s teacher training and support model in the 30 districts of Rwanda.
Under his leadership, Educate! partnered with the Rwandan government on the country’s national curriculum reform efforts, focused on curriculum design and project-based assessment.
The results of a randomised controlled trial of Educate!’s two-year teacher training and support model showed participating teachers were 19% more likely to use active instruction techniques, and six months after graduation students were twice as likely to enroll in university, with a 167% increase in university enrolment for girls.
Kamugisha’s unwavering commitment to sustainability and long-term behaviour change in education practices has resulted in the implementation of innovations in Rwanda such as student business clubs and a new software platform, the Comprehensive Assessment Management Information System (CAMIS).
CAMIS enables teachers to continuously monitor students’ progress, incorporating project-based assessments and moving away from traditional reliance solely on exams. The data is uploaded to a central database at the national level, allowing for a detailed overview of student outcomes.
As a former teacher and National Master Trainer on skills-based education, Kamugisha has a unique affinity for educators in the region and understands the challenges they face. He has personally trained over 500 teachers on competency-based curriculum best practices, helped governments to develop education materials, and his work has had a significant impact on the quality of education in East Africa.
Kamugisha is a passionate advocate for education reform and providing opportunities for skills-based learning, having lacked these opportunities as a student growing up in Uganda. He uses his platform to raise awareness about the importance of skills-based education, giving lectures to university students about the value of entrepreneurship and working alongside the UN Industrial Development Organisation to introduce the subject of entrepreneurship in Rwanda. He sees that a quality education must go beyond theory and encompass practical experience. It is his firmly held belief that if young people are given the right support and mentorship, the economy will benefit from the entrepreneurs and leaders of the future.
Meanwhile, Jean-Claude Nkulikiyimfura is Executive Director of Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV) in Rwanda, an organisation that empowers orphaned and vulnerable youth to build lives of dignity and contribute to a better world.
Nkulikiyimfura was born a refugee in Burundi. His parents were both orphaned and fled Rwanda in 1961, but taught their children that they would one day return to Rwanda and restore justice and dignity for all. Nkulikiyimfura did exactly that after the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi and began working to fulfil this promise.
Nkulikiyimfura first visited the ASYV campus in 2010, where he met a student named Fabien, a genocide survivor and orphan who inspired him with his determination.
This experience led him to enter the non-profit sector and work for ASYV in hopes of helping students like Fabien build dignified and self-reliant lives. The students of ASYV remind Nkulikiyimfura of his own parents; they have grit, resilience, and hope for a better future.
Nkulikiyimfura leads ASYV in its mission to empower vulnerable Rwandan youth to heal, build lives of dignity, and contribute to a better world. ASYV has provided 1,200 youth ages 14–21, including 500 current students, with secondary school education, medical and mental health services, extracurricular activities, and a loving family environment.
These services were designed to meet the complex needs of genocide survivors, and under Nkulikiyimfura’s leadership have continued to enable hundreds of the nation’s most at-risk young people to complete secondary school and access tertiary education and employment.
Among ASYV’s current first-year students, 63% have lost one or both parents, 65% come from households living in poverty, and 5% are refugees. In recognition of girls’ heightened vulnerabilities to leaving school, 62% of students are girls and 38% are boys. The results of the programme have been phenomenal. Over 60% of graduates have attended higher education, compared with 7% of young people nationally, while 44%, nearly twice the national average for youth, are employed, self-employed or interning.
Nkulikiyimfura also works to strengthen education in Rwanda nationally through ASYV’s Educational Resilience Programme (ERP). A groundbreaking partnership between the public, private, and non-profit sectors, the ERP is training upper- and lower-secondary school teachers from across Rwanda in digital education technology and life skills education concepts like mental health, gender equity, and sexual and reproductive health. The ERP has already impacted over 60,000 students.
His vision for ASYV has guided the organisation in its work to achieve several strategic goals, including digitising all curricula, developing vocational training based on national economic need and opportunity, closing gender-based gaps in programming, and developing a new trauma-informed curriculum that will train staff members to provide students with the emotional support they need to thrive. This work is enhancing learning outcomes and helping students build supportive relationships with their peers and educators.
Commenting on the selection of finalists, Vikas Pota, Founder and CEO of T4 Education, said: “Africa’s teachers and school leaders, and its leaders of governments, NGOs and businesses, all play a crucial part in unlocking the continent’s potential through quality education. African education stands at a crossroads in the wake of the pandemic, but if leaders from across the continent in every field can work together then they can build the lasting change needed.”
{{Below are top 10 finalists for the Africa Education Medal}}
● Mary Ashun, Principal of Ghana International School, Ghana
● Laura Kakon, Chief Growth & Strategy Officer of Honoris United Universities, Morocco
● Rogers Kamugisha, Country Director of Educate!, Rwanda
● Grace Matlhape, CEO of SmartStart, South Africa
● Mary Metcalfe, former policymaker and CEO of Programme to Improve Learning Outcomes (PILO), South Africa
● Martha Muhwezi, Executive Director of FAWE, Uganda
● Jean-Claude Nkulikiyimfura, Executive Director of Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village, Rwanda
● Simi Nwogugu, CEO of JA Africa, Nigeria
● Sara Ruto, Former Chief Administrative Secretary of Kenya’s Ministry of Education and former CEO of PAL Network, Kenya
● Snehar Shah, CEO of Moringa School, Kenya
Nominations for the Africa Education Medal opened in February 2023 for individuals working to improve pre-kindergarten, K-12, vocational and university education who are either educators, school administrators, civil society leaders, public servants, government officials, political leaders, technologists, or innovators.
The winner of the Africa Education Medal will be announced in July. Finalists will be assessed by a Jury comprising prominent individuals based on rigorous criteria.
The conference organized by the University of Rwanda- College Of Education (UR-CE), brought together researchers, scholars, educators, policymakers, and postgraduate students from different countries to discuss the future of education and how it can be adjusted to the labor market.
The theme of the conference is held under the theme “Re-thinking Holistic Education for the 4th Industrial Revolution.”
Dr. Mathias Nduwingoma , a lecturer and the Director of the Centre for Open Distance and eLearning (CODeL) at the University of Rwanda, stressed the need for collaboration across different levels, including parents, students, and lecturers, to advance education.
He emphasized that research projects should focus on helping governments and policymakers make informed decisions regarding expertise and technology, and that education should be centered on students to build their capacities.
Olivier Habimana, a lecturer of ICT at UR-CE, stressed the need for deeper research on issues miring the education sector and finding appropriate solutions.
He noted that the government of Rwanda has embarked on a journey to equip lecturers at the College of Education with basic and latest resources to make it possible.
Meanwhile, the Principal of the College of Education, Dr. Florien Nsanganwimana, highlighted that efforts to reshape Rwanda’s education are centered on reinforcing digital penetration and building the capacity of graduates.
He pointed out that the University Of Rwanda- College Of Education has started embracing e-learning where students acquire relevant knowledge to be competent in the labor market.
However, he noted that inadequate equipment and classrooms are among the obstacles to reshaped education and called for research to address other issues affecting education from their root causes.
Françoise Kayitare Tengera, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Finance and Administration at the University of Rwanda, said that the conference’s objective aligns with Rwanda’s agenda 2030.
She disclosed that it serves as an opportunity to discuss various issues aimed at promoting quality education for sustainable development and urged participants to share constructive ideas advancing the cause.
Rwanda has 95% 4G coverage and a broadband fibre backbone in all major cities, but due to Rwanda’s geography, some areas of the country are hard to reach at an affordable cost and good reliability, using these technologies. In February 2023, Rwanda officially launched Starlink satellite internet services, to improve access to affordable, fast and reliable internet connectivity in remote areas.
The Government of Rwanda has already connected 44.5% of public schools across the country via fibre optic, the One Government Network project, and the Giga Initiative. Through the Tomorrow Partnership with the Government of Rwanda, the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) has committed to connect 50 of the 500 pilot schools.
On Wednesday, The Rwandan Minister of ICT and Innovation accompanied by the Minister of State in charge of Primary and Secondary Education at the Ministry of Education and Mr. Tony Blair, visited the first school to be connected under this program, the Groupe Scolaire Gaseke, in Gicumbi District.
“The Tony Blair Institute’s initiative through the Tomorrow Partnership, is supporting the Government of Rwanda by providing expertise and technical assistance, so that we are able to dream together, co-design and implement impactful programmes, like this week’s launch of high-speed satellite connectivity for schools in Rwanda,” said Paula Ingabire, Rwandan Minister of ICT and Innovation.
One of the key sectors for increasing access to broadband services being the Education sector, Gaspard Twagirayezu, Minister of State in charge of Primary and Secondary Education said: “We want to have all our schools connected to the internet, but there are regions that do not have coverage or are difficult to connect. So having the option of satellite is really important, and we are looking forward to connecting some of our most remote schools using this type of connectivity.”
Talking about their partnership with the Government of Rwanda, Stella Mugabo, TBI Country Director for Rwanda, said: “Connecting these schools demonstrates the art of the possible, and the fundamental mission of The Tomorrow Partnership: provide problem-solvers the technology to enable the best possible solutions. It’s clear that when we bring policymakers who are committed to accelerating the delivery of real change for their people together with technology companies like Starlink, you can feel the energy and a real excitement around the potential for progress.”
On March 1, 2023, University of Kigali’s Board of Directors appointed Professor David Karungu Wang’ombe as Vice- Chancellor, while Prof. Felix Maringe was appointed Deputy Vice Chancellor – Academic on October 1, 2022.
Both are not new in the academic field since they have been working with various highly-esteemed academic institutions in the region, South Africa and the UK, which sums up their readiness for the job awaiting them at UoK.
Few days ahead of the 7th graduation ceremony due to take place at the Intare Conference Arena on 3rd March 2023, both members of the university’s management team spoke to IGIHE about their prospects.
For Prof. Wang’ombe, joining University of Kigali’s leadership was a dream fulfilled in his quest to take African education to the next level.
“I have had a chance to see the plans and vision of the University of Kigali, and that motivated me to consider the possibilities of working with this university. So, I was delighted when the Board of Directors appointed me as vice chancellor, and shared in my personal vision of developing the capacity of the youth attending the university,” he said.
In his new journey, Prof Wang’ombe will be focusing on what should be four pillars of modern university namely; excellence in teaching and learning, research by building new knowledge, community engagement and making a difference in the lives of people.
“Achieving that requires excellence in our organizations, excellence in our governance and high quality procedures that enable us to achieve those goals”, he added.
Once those foundations are laid, Prof. Wang’ombe believes that it will market the university in the international arena.
“It is my hope that we are able to carry sufficient international accreditation for all the pillars whether separately or together, so that we are recognized both internally and externally, as an institution that is committed to making a difference in the lives of people,” Prof. Wang’ombe said.
This will be an addition to existing programs that are already being implemented in University of Kigali, including allocating full scholarships to vulnerable students whose talents are remarkable.
“At this stage, I invite other institutions that would want to support students that are brilliant but cannot afford university education to come and join us in making this education available,” he appealed.
{{More than 1800 students are ready to graduate }}
On 3rd March 2023, the university will put more than 1,800 graduates on global markets in various fields such as Business Management, Economics, Education, Law, Computing and Information Technology, etc.
Prof. Maringe lauded the graduands, saying that they have been equipped with skills that are relevant to the global market.
“As our motto states, we prepare “labour for the future” and one of the things that characterizes our University is that all our students have to work hard to earn their grades, diplomas and degrees. That is a very important part of our training for the students and it has been held by employers as a great achievement. It is one of the things that we are very proud about,” he said.
Prof. Wangombe added that the graduands have been prepared for the world that is ahead of them.
“We have prepared these students to face the world that is ahead of them. They have not only passed the exams, but also have gone through the process of interaction, counseling, guiding them to know what life is all about, not just about the engagement in money-making exercises but being good citizens who can make a difference in the lives of people” he said.
The University of Kigali is one of the top-five universities in Rwanda. It is appreciated for its efforts in scaling up education, especially through research.
Having started operations in 2013, the university currently has two campuses; one in Kigali and the other in Musanze.
Premier Ngirente delivered the message at the celebration of World Teachers’ Day marked on Wednesday 2nd November 2022.
In Rwanda, the event was held at BK Arena at national level where Dr. Ngirente addressed over 7000 teachers and delivered the message from President of the Republic.
Premier Ngirente told educators that President Kagame sent him to deliver his message.
“His Excellency, President of the Republic of Rwanda wished to be with you today but could not make it over hectic schedules and other reasons. So, he asked me to represent him at this ceremony,” he said.
“His message is covered in one word. It implies that the Government of Rwanda strongly attaches great relevance to your profession. That is why we continue to call you educators and parents in Rwanda. Keep up the momentum,” added Dr. Ngirente.
The Premier revealed that he is personally proud of the profession which has been the cornerstone for many high profile personalities.
“May the teacher be respected,” he said.
Dr. Ngirente requested teachers to continue to be a good example in their profession and Rwandan society as well.
“I once again request teachers and educators altogether to be defined by good conduct to inspire the children you teach and other segments of the population. People learn from teachers’ good manners but the opposite of this tarnishes their reputation,” he said.
“Good conduct has to go hand in hand with hygiene which should characterize all Rwandans from teachers to students. The country, parents and Rwandan society expect you to play a role in instilling such good manners among them,” added Dr. Ngirente.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Valentine Uwamariya reminded teachers that they do a great job that requires dedication.
“We salute teacher’s dedication to their work. Apparently, teaching is a calling and we have been witnessing the fruits of your work. A lot still needs to be done to promote quality education, work relentlessly, and assess students’ knowledge, take heed of hygiene and work with parents whom we educate their children among others,” she advised.
Rwanda registers over 5603 teachers in nursery schools; 63,788 in primary schools; 29,858 in public and semi-public secondary schools and 7,813 in technical schools while 20,000 are from private schools.
During the ceremony, five outstanding teachers were awarded for promoting quality education while five others were awarded for efficiently utilizing loans from Umwarimu Sacco.
The educators who arrived in Kigali in the evening of Wednesday 19th October 2022 include 135 to be deployed in Teachers Training Colleges (TTCs). Others will be deployed to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), three Integrated Polytechnic Regional Centres (IPRCs) while some will teach in the University of Rwanda – College of Medicine and Health Sciences (UR-CMHS).
They were recruited after passing job entry exams and accepting to work in Rwanda.
Those Zimbabweans are allowed to stay in Rwanda with their families. They will spend three days for induction during which they will be taught about Rwanda’s history, visit Kigali Genocide Memorial and other places.
The new educators are expected to start their jobs on Monday next week.
Speaking at the ceremony to officially welcome the foreign teachers; the Minister of State in charge of ICT and TVET, Claudette Irere said that they will first be taken through Rwanda’s history values, home-grown solutions and get more information about their new job.
She reminded them that the country expects a lot from them to promote quality education.
Irere explained that they were recruited as experienced teachers who will also assist or train Rwandan counterparts.
The Ambassador of Zimbawe to Rwanda, Prof. Charity Manyeruke said that the successful recruitment of teachers from Zimbabwe is a fruit of vibrant relations between both countries.
Zimbabwe opened an embassy in Rwanda in 2019 and Rwanda opened embassy in the country in the same year.
Prof. Manyeruke thanked both countries’ heads of state for being far sighted. He explained that Zimbawe has undergone several reforms to promote the education sector for far too long noting that fruits of these efforts are self-evident.
He highlighted that Rwanda and Zimbabwe have so far signed 22 agreements in different areas including energy, exchange of knowledge and employees from different sectors, an addition to existing trade cooperation.
Prof. Manyeruke underscored that the collaboration between Rwanda and Zimbawe aligns with provisions of the African Continental Free Trade Area, to remove employment barriers among African countries.
The Ministry of Education has revealed that the government will pay the teachers’ salaries and provide accommodation nearby their workplace in the first three months.
It is expected that they will have been familiar with the country during this time, whereafter they can rent selected accommodations or build own houses depending on available means.
Family members who came to Rwanda with the teachers can also apply for jobs matching with their qualifications in Rwanda.
Their employment contract will last for two years but can be renewed in consideration of different aspects including their performance.
Some of these teachers have told IGIHE that they are excited to work in Rwanda as a country of their dreams with an inspiring development journey and visionary leadership.
“On my side, I have to say that my dreams have come true. I come here as an experienced English teacher where I will be mentoring fellow teachers,” said Zendile Ndlovu.
Of these teachers comprising 96 men and 58 women; six will be assigned to TVET schools, 11 will be deployed to IPRC as three serve as lecturers at the University of Rwanda.
The details emerged on Tuesday 27th September 2022 as the ministry announced results for primary school and ordinary level national examinations for the year 2021/2022.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Valentine Uwamariya has said that a total of 227,472 candidates sat for primary leaving national examinations of whom 125,169 are girls while the number of boys stood at 102,303.
“A total of 206,286 candidates obtained a pass mark, representing 90.69%. This means, the remaining 21,186 equivalent to 9.31% failed. Last year, pupils passed exams at 82.8%. This shows the improvement registered this year,” she said.
As for ordinary level, only 126,735 sat for exams out of 127,589 registered candidates.
“A total of 108,566 students passed the national exam representing 85.66% while 18,469 representing 14.34% failed exams. Unlike primary national exams, the ordinary level’s performance is below compared to 86.3% registered last year,” said Dr. Uwamariya.
Of those who passed primary leaving exams, 26,922 received boarding schools while 179,364 were sent to day schools.
Dr. Uwamariya has revealed that all students who failed to secure a pass mark will repeat classes.
Last year, a total of 60,000 who failed primary leaving and ordinary level national examinations also repeated the school year.
In bid to continue supporting the education sector, the Rwandan government is going to invest a lot of money in activities related to it, where this sector is the second that was given a lot of money in the 2022/23 fiscal year.
The Department of Internal Security has the largest budget of Rwf1,717.8 billion followed by the Department of Education with 573.3 billion; Justice, reconciliation, and rule of law with Rwf413.8 billion while the health sector received Rwf365.2 billion.
Of course, this money will be invested in education activities in Rwanda in order to strengthen its quality and develop it.
Although it is expected that more than Rwf249 billion will go to the salaries of those who work in the education sector, there are important projects of priority to promote quality education as highlighted below.
{{Improving the quality of education by providing modern equipment}}
The State Minister in Charge of Primary and Secondary Education, Gaspard Twagirayezu has told IGIHE that increasing the quality of education through the capacity building of teachers, schools, and students are among projects of the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC).
Under this project that will cost more than Rwf6.4 billion, it is planned that tablets will be given to at least 4000 teachers, containing courses prepared in the form that have been researched and proven to be productive.
These are computers that will be provided to public elementary and middle schools that are supported by the government under the 150 contract to increase capacity.
Twagirayezu said that this technology is aimed at improving the quality of education, where the teacher will be able to give lessons based on the manual that is included in the computer, which has all the complete information so that it will increase the level of the child’s knowledge.
“It will also help the teacher to monitor the learning of children and their behavior while they are in class, to be able to identify those who are absent from school, the level of their success. It will also help to monitor the performance of the teacher and his supervisor,” he noted.
It is expected that these materials should be delivered to the schools and begin to be used at the beginning of the first term of the school year 2022/23 which will start on September 26, 2022.
{{Writing books within the country}}
As part of the effort to be self-sufficient, Rwanda has started authoring books in a program known as ‘in House texting’ and it is producing results.
The Ministry of Education anticipates that at least Rwf10 billion will be spent every year in order to achieve the desired goals in 2026.
In this fiscal year, the government allocated Rwf5.9 billion for the writing of educational textbooks.
The books that will be provided are related to the subjects of Mathematics, Rwandan, English, French, Intelligence, Social Sciences, Biology, Technology, History, Environmental Science, Business, Swahili, Religion, Education, Music, Arts and Crafts, home science, agriculture and animal husbandry.
The focus is also on the pre-school, primary, and high school levels.
Twagirayezu pointed out that writing books in Rwanda have produced tangible results because more than 14 million books have been produced and it has reduced the gaps and mistakes that used to appear in books written by foreigners.
“After 14,187,817 books were produced, the number of children using one book decreased from nine in 2017 to five as per statistics for the year 2020/21,” he said.
He went on to reveal that the waiting time for the books to reach the schools was reduced since they were imported.
{{Promoting basic education}}
MINEDUC has a project that aims to improve basic education in which it will inject nearly Rwf10 billion.
This project will focus on the preparation, use, and implementation of student assessment reports, and campaigning for gender equality in schools.
There is also the establishment of standards for evaluation in primary schools and the first stage of secondary schools, the provision of books and manuals for kindergartens, and the training of teachers in kindergartens.
It is also planned that books for kindergartens and those in the first grade will be digitized, providing materials for learning and teaching mathematics, science, and technology, materials for science teaching in schools such as laboratories, and materials for preschool technology and modeling.
There are also the provision of materials and books in kindergartens, the introduction of technology in English learning materials, the training of teachers in relation to teaching, the use of tests for the placement of school principals, and the preparation and delivery pieces of trainings for teachers of science and mathematics.
At present, the development of primary education has reached an impressive rate, where 98.9% of school-age children are currently in school (primary school).
Among them, the pass rate in primary schools increased from 81.6% in 2019 to 82.8% in 2020/21. Those who go to secondary school went from 53% in 2019 to 56.9% in 2020.
The pass rate in secondary schools increased from 90.6% in 2019 to 92.2% in 2020, all of which is a boost to the development of basic education.
{{Increase the number of skilled and competent workers}}
Sometimes, increasing the number of skilled and capable staff may seem counterintuitive because there has been competition, but it is necessary to keep complementing the ability of teachers.
This project will focus on increasing the number of classrooms in schools of excellence and building the capacity of Teacher Training Schools.
Since 2019, teachers have received scholarships for capacity building where about 597 will pursue courses at the University of Rwanda, Rukara and Nyagatare branch.
It is planned that 15,636 teachers will be trained under this budget.
{{Building schools will cost Rwf16.7 billion}}
In the 2022-2023 fiscal year, it is planned that 360 rooms will be built in kindergartens and 94 rooms in secondary schools.
At the moment, the overcrowding in kindergarten schools is about 40 students per classroom, 59 in primary school and 40 in high school.
It is an ongoing process to reduce the number of students in one school because the government wants to reduce the number to at least 30 in kindergartens, 46 in primary schools and 30 in secondary schools by 2024.
This year, it is expected that 12 kindergarten classrooms will be built in each district and 94 classrooms up to three in secondary schools in Gasabo, Musanze and Rubavu districts.
The new students will be pursuing Bachelor’s of Arts (BA) degree in Project Management.
Speaking at the admission day event held on Friday 26th August 2022, the Vice Chancellor of Kepler College, Prof Baylie Damtie Yeshita said that courses to be offered under this program will equip students with knowledge, skills and attitude that are highly needed at the labour market.
“Kepler College shall focus on offering academic programs at the intersection of technology and management inline with the labor market needs in Rwanda and the region.The main defining and unique feature of Kepler College’s pedagogy is learn by doing; students are presented with case studies and projects to demonstrate mastery of key competencies. Assessment at Kepler College aims at measuring students’ ability to solve a variety of work-like problems and projects instead of rote memorization,” he said.
Yeshita disclosed that all programs of the college offer industrial attachment opportunities to students and actively working with employers is a key strategy of the College for ensuring the relevance of an academic program.
He also highlighted that employment outcome is the main measure of success at Kepler College; the goal being 90% of the graduates get jobs within six months after graduation.
Kevin Marius Ikuzwe, one of new students enrolled this year expressed delight to be admitted at Kepler College noting that he was lured by Kepler’s credibility for quality education.
Shalina Agasaro Gakuba also revealed that the support Kepler extended to alumni after graduation attracted her to join Kepler College.
In April 2022, Kepler College was accredited as a fully-fledged higher education institution in Rwanda to start by offering bachelors of arts degree in project management. The College plans to open three more additional undergraduate programs over the next five years.
