On May 1, the government directed schools to stay closed till September 2020. This impelled the question; how will students utilise the time till schools open?

Education experts are of the view that home-coaching is the way to go during this time.

"This should not be wasted time. Parents who can afford it are encouraged to hire teachers to coach their students privately. But this should observe the measures of health institutions to combat the virus. Some can even use digital tools,” Irénée Ndayambaje, Director General of Rwanda Education Board, says.

Home-coaching is a method of education by which a parent hires a private teacher to coach a student at home.

Though this method is highly recommended, it is necessary to know how effective it is.  

Juliet Bazaneza, a 13-year-old senior one student at College Saint Andre Kigali, says she used to fail biology, and hopes to concentrate on it during these months till September.

She says that biology was her worst subject at school. Being a shy girl, she never asked teachers when she didn’t understand something for fear of being laughed at by other students. She also didn’t try to ask any of the students who were good at it to help her. She says she will use this time with a private coach to know more about biology.

Augustin Kanyemera has six years’ experience in coaching, and says this method of teaching helps a tutor concentrate on one student.

"We are guaranteed to give all the attention to one student, so we can explain what is hard as many times as necessary until the student gets it,” he says.

"A private tutor has the capacity to quickly identify the subject or topic in which a student is facing difficulty, and seek means to help. Since the tutor is focusing on one student, a lot of information can be learned in the shortest time,” he adds.

This also allows students to get out of their comfort zone and express their concerns, by asking questions and getting to know more.

"This mode of learning is helpful as it enables learners to feel free to ask questions to know more, because they no longer fear that they will be laughed at by their colleagues,” says Mariam Mukamukiza, a parent of four.

Mukamukiza adds that she has adopted the method because it empowers a learner to ask questions where they do not understand.

Anastase Niyomugabo, a teacher for more than 20 years, says that home-coaching is unique in such a way that it focuses on the weaknesses of the student.

"The student focuses on weaknesses and this raises the performance. With the whole class, the teacher can’t focus on the weaknesses only because students have different weaknesses. However, private coaches do and it yields a high productivity,” he says.

As this method is greatly encouraged, it is wise to respect the measures from health authorities to mitigate the ongoing pandemic, that’s why many students are embracing digital tools like Zoom and other video conferencing modes. Secondly, it requires a good learning environment that is conducive for the student and the tutor.