When Covid-19 gripped the nation and confined the citizens to their homes, Rwanda didn’t sit idle. Through the Ministry of Education, the government with the support of development partners scaled up its efforts to prepare schools to offer safe and conducive learning environment to children when they finally open.
This endeavor was carried out under the Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital Development (RQBE), a project supported with US$200 million loan finance by the World Bank.
This project is advancing basic education in Rwanda and is implemented by the Ministry of Education and the Rwanda Basic Education Board.
The main goal of the RQBE project is to improve teacher competency, student retention and learning. Among the necessary inputs towards this goal, the project’s major objective is tackling the issue of overcrowding and long distance to schools.
Hence, a substantial budget was allocated to school construction activities that entailed the construction of 11,004 classrooms and 14,680 latrines which is about half of the total targeted number of 22,505 classrooms and 31,932 latrines needed to solve the issue of overcrowding and long-distance to schools countrywide as assessed by the Ministry of Education in 2019.
Speaking to The New Times, Nociata Mukamurenzi, the SPIU Coordinator in the Ministry of Education highlighted how the project is contributing to the human capital needs of Rwanda by making education more accessible and attainable:
"The Ministry of Education under Rwanda Quality Basic Education for Human Capital project is completing the construction of additional classrooms in targeted schools and new schools for pre-primary and primary students as high-quality infrastructure which is associated with improving student attendance and better learning and reduce overcrowding in school and long-distance covered by learners” she said.
The issue of overcrowding with some classrooms housing more than 200 students was one of the threats to education progress in Rwanda that reduced the effectiveness of teaching and impacted learning outcomes, hence a heavy burden to students, teachers, and parents alike. With the support of this project, the Ministry is expected to gradually reduce the class size to 45 students per room and per teacher.
Alotia Mukantwali, the headmistress of Karama Primary school in Kigali sector of Nyarugenge District which is one of the project’s beneficiaries recounts the burden that the project is lifting off: "Students used to walk long distances and got to school very tired and dozed in class. This made it hard for the teachers to keep their attention”.
Francine Nishimwe, a 15-year old student at the same school is happy with the changes: "We were overcrowded such that we sat as four or five per desk, not allowing us to give full attention to the teaching. Today, we are sitting one or two per desk allowing the teacher to check on every student because we are few”. She said.
The benefits of the newly constructed schools are not only felt by students but also their parents: "We were doubting on the quality of education being delivered to such a large number of students. So, we hail the government for addressing the issue we had, by constructing new classrooms,” says Emerance Mukandahiro, a parent and resident of Nyarugenge near the school.
The Project’s construction activities considered inclusion and equity by providing disability-friendly features in classroom and toilet construction, as well as ensuring gender segregation for balanced distribution of toilets for both girls and boys in each school.
Since the construction activities started in May 2020, the works are nearing completion as the present progress of the first phase of 2,704 classrooms and 3,648 latrines are at 99% while the second phase of 8,300 classrooms and 11,032 latrines is at 94%. The remaining 11,501 classrooms and 17,252 latrines that are being constructed under ordinary budget are also at 93%.
Homegrown School Construction Approach (HGSCA)
The HGSCA is a Rwanda home-grown construction practice that is implemented through a hybrid arrangement of centralized, decentralized, and community-based activities to save costs, wherever possible, without compromising the quality or speed of the work, while enhancing community solidarity through participation in the work. This practice is unique and has been evolving since 2009. However, the current scale of operations is unprecedented.
The World Bank-financed project supports the Ministry of Education in the adoption and implementation of this approach as one of the strategies to fast-track the construction of classrooms and latrines using minimum resources.
This collaboration has resulted in numerous reforms and best practices including aspects of labor remuneration, and social and environmental safeguards.