{"id":54577,"date":"2025-06-20T10:07:14","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T10:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/rwanda-to-recruit-more-teachers-from-zimbabwe\/"},"modified":"2025-06-20T09:33:46","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T09:33:46","slug":"rwanda-to-recruit-more-teachers-from-zimbabwe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/rwanda-to-recruit-more-teachers-from-zimbabwe\/","title":{"rendered":"Rwanda to recruit more teachers from Zimbabwe"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Prime Minister Dr Edouard Ngirente announced the plan on June 19, 2025, during an address to a joint session of Parliament, where he outlined the Government\u2019s progress in improving the welfare of Rwandans.<\/p>\n<p>In the education sector, the Prime Minister noted that more than 22,000 new classrooms have been constructed in under a year, along with a significant increase in the number of teachers across all levels of schooling.<\/p>\n<p>Dr Ngirente was responding to a question about what the government is doing to address the issue of teachers who lack sufficient proficiency in English, the language of instruction.<\/p>\n<p>He explained that the issue is being tackled through teacher training programmes where Zimbabwean educators have been brought in to train future Rwandan teachers. He also revealed plans to recruit more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou may recall that we brought in teachers from Zimbabwe, and we are currently planning to bring in even more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>It is expected that around 150 teachers will be brought in during this phase, adding to the 154 already in the country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe majority of those we brought in are English teachers working in Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs), to ensure that future educators are well-versed in English. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve invested heavily in TTCs\u2014providing them with the necessary facilities and resources. Even during school construction, TTCs were given priority so they could be adequately equipped. These Zimbabwean teachers will help ensure that graduates are capable of teaching in English, even at the primary school level,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>However, he acknowledged that the current number of TTCs, which stands at only 16 nationwide, is insufficient to meet the country\u2019s teacher training needs.<\/p>\n<p>{{Proficiency tests<br \/>\n}}<\/p>\n<p>Dr Ngirente also announced that current teachers will be required to undergo two years of English language training, after which they must take a proficiency test. Those who pass will retain their positions, while those who fail will be replaced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTTCs cannot produce enough graduates to fill all teaching positions across the country. Therefore, we will gradually replace existing teachers as more English-proficient graduates come out of TTCs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added, \u201cCurrent teachers will have two years to learn English while still teaching. After that, they\u2019ll take an exam\u2014those who pass will remain, and those who fail will leave the profession. The programme lasts three years, with two years focused on learning while they work. Failing to teach in English effectively means failing to qualify as a teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A 2018 World Bank report highlighted the urgent need for English language training among teachers, revealing that only 38% of teachers from Primary 1 to 3 had sufficient English proficiency.<\/p>\n<p>A document released by the Ministry of Education on February 26, 2024, indicated that only 4% of current teachers possess intermediate to advanced English skills, even though English is the official language of instruction.<\/p>\n<p>Rwanda adopted English as the medium of instruction in 2008, replacing French. In 2011, the policy stipulated that English would be introduced from Primary 4 onwards, with the first three years taught in Kinyarwanda. However, this was revised in 2019, and English is now used as the language of instruction starting from Primary 1.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-89436 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/whatsapp_image_2025-06-19_at_17.19_55_45ed3353-a1d42.jpg\" alt=\"Speaking during an address to a joint session of Parliament on Thursday, June 19, Prime Minister Dr Ngirente affirmed that any teacher who fails English will be replaced.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-89437 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/whatsapp_image_2025-06-19_at_17.19_56_455c9970-4e4a6.jpg\" alt=\"The joint session of Parliament follows the Prime Minister&#039;s address.\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-89435 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/whatsapp_image_2025-06-19_at_17.20_41_d1c3254b-136aa.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"spip-document spip-document-89434 aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/jpg\/52441093251_3c30108404_k-5b7df-67252.jpg\" alt=\"The Government of Rwanda intends to bring in more teachers from Zimbabwe to enhance the quality of education in the country, particularly in the English language.\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Government of Rwanda intends to bring in more teachers from Zimbabwe to enhance the quality of education in the country, particularly in the English language.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000089433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[170],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-54577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-igihe"],"bylines":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"contributors":[{"id":170,"name":"IGIHE","slug":"igihe","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":8}],"featured_image":{"id":2000089433,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/52441093251_3c30108404_k-5b7df-67252.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/52441093251_3c30108404_k-5b7df-67252.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/52441093251_3c30108404_k-5b7df-67252.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/52441093251_3c30108404_k-5b7df-67252.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/52441093251_3c30108404_k-5b7df-67252.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/52441093251_3c30108404_k-5b7df-67252.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000089433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54577"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=54577"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=54577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}