As preparations for the International Day for Teachers, that falls on October 5, get into high gear, a top official at the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has said teachers will this time round have more reason to celebrate.

Johnson Ntagaramba, the Director in charge of Teachers at the TSC, said among the things teachers will celebrate is a credit and savings scheme, and receiving their salaries on time.

"For the first time in history, Rwandan teachers started getting their salaries between 22 and 28 since June 2010,” he said in an exclusive interview.

Ntagaranba also observed that although the teachers pay is still small compared to other civil servants, the remuneration has been increasing over the years.

"The teacher’s cooperative society, Umwalium Sacco has also transformed teachers’ lifestyle by enabling them to start up income-generating projects since they now have access to soft loans,” he said.

The official, however, said that the event will serve as an opportunity for teachers and education stakeholders to reflect on the teaching profession, with a view of making further progress.

He said that the country had made significant strides in improving the quality of teaching, by putting in place institutions in charge of training teachers at different levels. He cited the Kigali Institute of Education (KIE), ten Primary Teacher Teaching Centres (PTTCs) and two colleges of education.     

According to Ntagaranba, the event will be celebrated under four local themes that include teachers development based on a change of mindset, transformation of a teacher based on the environment, the role of a teacher in implementing national development goals, and the teachers` role in ensuring quality education.

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