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Media releases > Rebuilding Rwandan education
Rwanda: time for a different story
(April 2004)
Rwandans now have the target to be one, to be united and to work for their country. We have had enough of divisions. I think all Rwandans are on one ride to rebuild their country.
(Joseph Nainyibizi, 20, a student at St Andre School, Kigali)
Joseph Nainyibizi is an orphan, a former refugee and five years behind in his education. But that is not his story. One day he plans to be the president of Rwanda. His English teacher, VSO volunteer Tracey Riches, says:
Pupils here are proactive; it’s quite possible that you will see future leaders of Rwanda.
In 2004 that is Joseph’s story.
Joseph is just one of 18,000 students to have benefited firsthand from the skills and experience of the 150 VSO volunteers who have worked in Rwanda since the international development charity opened its programme there in 1998.
VSO Rwanda’s story began in June 1997 when the then Minister of Education and the Rwandan Ambassador to Britain visited VSO London to personally request that volunteer teachers be sent to Rwanda. They were familiar with VSO from their own school days as refugees in Uganda and believed VSO could play a role in rebuilding Rwanda’s education system, the same education system that during the genocide saw two-thirds of its qualified teachers killed or exiled.
While the events of that spring have unarguably left their legacy, in Rwanda today there is a mood of reconciliation and Rwandans are working together to build a positive future for themselves and their country.
Primary school enrolment has risen from 950,000 in 1994 to 1.67 million today and secondary education has increased five-fold to 200,000. This summer the first class of fully trained teachers will graduate from Kigali Institute of Education.
For many though the pervasive image of Rwanda is out of date by 10 years: it is not the country it is today. Romain Murenzi, the Rwandan Minister of Education, says:
Rwanda is a beautiful country that has faced genocide but we are moving forward. Rwanda is a very positive place to be. We have a positive attitude and we smile.
Phil Hudson, Country Director for VSO Rwanda, says:
We are, of course, working in a post conflict society and VSO is here as a result of the chronic human resource deficit caused by genocide, but we need to look forward. To encourage the development of Rwanda the international community must look beyond stories of ethnic division to a country that is unified and working towards lasting change.
In this context VSO Rwanda is now looking at new ways to develop its work. Rwanda still needs teachers but in order to become more independent it also needs teacher trainers and volunteers who can help build and develop the curriculum. In time VSO Rwanda will look at recruiting teachers with education management and training experience.
VSO will shortly publish Valuing Teachers Rwanda, part of an international research project exploring issues facing teacher motivation in developing countries. The findings, from extensive research undertaken through focus groups, one to one meetings and questionnaires, highlight lack of resources, the perception that teachers are not valued by society, and poor salaries, as issues most affecting morale.
These demotivating factors will encourage skills migration, as qualified teachers move overseas. Trainee teacher Valentine Utaruhijana, who took part in the Valuing Teachers project, says:
You can earn 20 times more in the UK. You have an education and want to help your country but you also want to help your family. There is a brain drain problem.
The resulting report makes practical recommendations for improvement in areas such as teachers’ terms and conditions, professional development and school management. the Rwandan Government is already making use of the findings in its newly formed Teacher Management Task Force.
Editors' notes- To find out more about the work of VSO Rwanda please contact Catherine Raynor in the VSO press offfice on 020 8780 7285 or e-mail catherine.raynor@vso.org.uk.
- VSO is the world’s largest international development charity working through volunteers. Since 1958 over 30,000 volunteers have shared their professional skills with some of the world’s poorest communities. In the year 2002/2003 1,626 VSO volunteers were working in 43 countries
- The genocide of 1994 began on 6 April. Over the course of 100 days between 800,000 and one million people were killed
- An estimated 11% (535,000) of women living in Rwanda at the time were victims of rape
- 60,000 women were widowed and 200,000 children orphaned as a result of the genocide
- For further information on VSO visit www.vso.org.uk or call 020 8780 7500
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