{A ceremony for the presentation of more than 100,000 new books for Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) and the University of Rwanda’s College of Education (CoE) will be held at the CoE on Friday. The USAID-funded Literacy, Language, and Learning (L3) Initiative will hand over the books to 13 TTC principals and the CoE in the effort to promote a culture of reading. }
The books, donated through the International Book Bank (IBB), include children’s storybooks, reference books for teachers, and novels and nonfiction books for recreational reading. At Friday’s event, representatives from the CoE, USAID, and the L3 Initiative as well as a TTC principal will make remarks. Refreshments will be served, and there will be time for discussion.
This project is a component of the national Rwanda Reads Initiative. “The College of Education is committed to promoting reading in order to improve the quality of education,” said Dr. Faustin Habineza, head of primary education and TTC coordinator at CoE.
These books will be put to good use by TTCs, which are using a new curriculum that includes a newly-developed course on language methods. The use of story in teaching reading and techniques for before, during, and after reading are emphasized. TTC tutors will use the new storybooks to model effective use of story in the classroom for TTC students, who will practice this during their student-teaching at primary schools.
Reference and recreational reading books will also greatly benefit both TTC students and tutors. The aim is for TTC students to develop a culture of reading themselves. When they become teachers, they can share their love of reading with primary students and even other teachers.
Jean Pierre Mugiraneza, an assistant lecturer at CoE, stated that a lack of reading materials and a reading culture is a major challenge in Rwandan schools. “It is clear that this new shipment will provide a solution,” he said.
The L3 Initiative is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the foreign assistance agency of the United States government. It is implemented by Education Development Center (EDC) in partnership with the Rwanda Education Board and the University of Rwanda’s College of Education with assistance from Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO), Concern Worldwide, International Education Exchange, the Peace Corps, and Never Again Rwanda.
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