One hundrend fifty girls who completed a six-month programme as teaching assistants in different schools have been motivated to pursue education at university and later, join the teaching field. The girls with best grades in sciences in high school were selected and supported by the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE)-Rwanda, a pan-African non-governmental organisation founded in 1992 to promote girls’ and women’s education in sub-Saharan Africa. Called the ‘Teaching Assistantship Project’ (TAP), it was implemented by Inspire Empower and Educate (IEE), Mastercard Foundation, Rwanda Education Board and various schools, and aimed at attracting girls in sciences to join the teaching profession, thus, improving the quality of education. “We have achieved so much at the schools where we were assisting. I previously saw teaching as a difficult task but after being inspired, and serving as a teaching assistant, I prefer to pursue education at university,” says Winnie Mutoni, one of the assistants. Emmanuel Murenzi, IEE Country Director, said that the Teaching Assistantship Project complements the efforts of Mastercard Foundation. She studied biology, chemistry and geography in high school and was assisting at Groupe Scolaire Matimba in Nyagatare District. “Students applauded us for the job well done and this motivated me to join the teaching career. At university, I want to study biology. I have realised that teaching is a very fulfilling job,” Mutoni says. Clementine Niyonizeye, another assistant at GS Kabusunzu in Nyarugenge District, says she benefited a lot from the programme. She completed high school last year with 70 grades at FAWE Girls School, the reason she was selected to become a teaching assistant. “After being an assistant, my confidence to speak in public improved highly. Behaviours also remain good, because when you consider yourself a teacher, you are obliged to be exemplary to others,” Niyonizeye says. The girls were motivated to join the teaching field. She says that thanks to the enhanced confidence, she also coaches students in senior four, even though she is only supposed to assist students in ordinary level. “I learnt how to be approachable to students and we had to help them catch up in case the teacher explained and they did not understand. We also had to help students catch up with what they missed in previous academic years. We had to use the new curriculum, and available learning materials so that they understood well,” she says. Emmanuel Murenzi, IEE Country Director, says that the ‘Teaching Assistantship Project’ is complementing the efforts of Mastercard Foundation of investing in teachers for improved learning outcomes, creating life and livelihood opportunities for young people. The girls were deployed to 73 schools in 15 districts, namely; Musanze, Gakenke, Rulindo, Rusizi, Burera, Karongi, Muhanga, Ruhango, Nyagatare, Gatsibo, Kayonza, Kicukiro, Nyarugenge, Gasabo and Bugesera. James McIntyre who spoke on behalf of Mastercard Foundation, said that the project shows a critical role that teachers play in promoting quality of teaching and learning in secondary schools in Rwanda. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
