Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente has urged teachers to take advantage of different initiatives that are aimed to improve quality education. He was speaking on Wednesday, November 2, during the teachers’ day celebrations that brought together more than 6,000 teachers who convened at BK Arena for the celebrations that were observed under the theme “The transformation of education begins with teachers. Ngirente urged teachers to be committed to improving ICT skills and embracing innovation in education so as to improve the quality of education in the country. ICT and innovation are in line with the national strategy which includes ICT in education policy, and its strategic plan that puts emphasis on smart classrooms, One Laptop per Child (OLPC) as well as One Laptop per Teacher. The Ministry of Education has said that there is a need to work with partners so as to equip about 100,000 teachers in secondary, primary, and nursery schools with laptops to facilitate smart learning in Rwanda. The Prime Minister urged all teachers to strive for increasing English skills as a language of teaching in Rwanda. “Government of Rwanda will continue to provide training for teachers to enhance English skills among teachers as they are essential in delivering quality education,” he said. He said that the government continues to recruit competent and committed teachers to improve the quality of education. “Government will continue to recruit competent and committed teachers to improve the quality of education. This will reduce congestion in the classroom. A teacher shouldn’t be managing 100 students in one classroom. After increasing classrooms across the country, there are currently between 45 and 50 students per teacher in a classroom,” he said. Rwanda has already constructed additional 22,000 classrooms across the country to reduce congestion in schools. The Prime Minister added that the government will continue to subsidize school fees for students in Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) and help them pursue a university education. The government has decided to subsidize the school fees by 50 percent for students who chose to join teacher training colleges after completing an ordinary level with good grades. The move is aimed to attract the best teachers in the education system and thus boost the quality of education. Recently the government reduced schools for students in secondary schools which followed a salary increase for teachers. “Teachers should take advantage of the initiatives to deliver on quality education expected from them,” he said. He added that there is a need for effective implementation of the school feeding programme for all nursery, primary and secondary schools. “Heads of schools should be committed to the effective implementation of the programme,” he said. The school feeding programme was recently extended to primary and nursery schools with government subsidies as the government seeks to improve learning and reduce school dropouts. Avoid embezzling school properties The Prime Minister also urged schools to avoid misusing and embezzling school properties. “Books, computers, and caption grants should be well managed. Otherwise, school leaders might be sued for mismanagement of the school treasury,” he said. Cases of embezzlement of caption grants, ICT equipment theft, and misuse of school treasures were recently recorded in different schools. He urged teachers and school leaders to strive to prepare future Rwandans who can educate other Rwandans in the next generations to ensure a bright future for the country. “This is because the government of Rwanda has a goal to have a knowledge-based economy in which teachers should play a significant role. Besides providing quality education, teachers should have good behaviors to be role models for students and communities in general. Parents should closely work with teachers to educate their children,” he added.
