The Ministry of Education is reviewing a more than 20-year-old education policy to align it with labour market demands, the National Strategy for Transformation (NST2), and Rwanda’s Vision 2050, the Minister of Education, Joseph Nsengimana has said. Nsengimana provided the update on Tuesday, February 18, during a session in which senators – members of the Committee on Social Affairs and Human Rights – wanted to get information on government initiatives for promoting technical and vocational education and training (TVET) establishments. He told senators that the policy was put in place in 2003. ALSO READ: NST2: How Rwanda’s education sector will be transformed in next five years “We are now reviewing this policy, by matching it with emerging trends. It will be based on Vision 2050, and National Strategy for Transformation (NST2),” he said, adding the blueprint will encompass both general and TVET education. The policy is adding to what we have been doing, especially offering quality education, based on Rwandan values, he observed. Another aspect factored in, he said, is catering for education in pre-primary schools. Pre-primary education enrolment in Rwanda was still low – at 39 per cent – while Rwanda expects to raise the rate to 65 per cent by 2029, according to the Ministry of Education’s sector strategic plan 2024-2029. ALSO READ: Rwanda set to increase pre-primary enrolment to 65% You find that many children do not go through these schools, which makes them unable to study well and move on to complete studies on time. Now, under NST2, we want to increase the rate of children who get enrolled in these pre-primary schools to at least 60 per cent, Nsengimana said. The policy will also bring further attention to STEM education, the minister pointed out, adding that this is informed by the fact that it is among careers that are much needed on the market. Therefore, in the framework of linking education and market demands, this is an area we put more effort into, he said. Another aspect the education policy will focus on is TVET, and higher learning institutions, citing the University of Rwanda, and Rwanda Polytechnic. “This will help us train teachers for both general education and TVET institutions. Rwanda’s policy targets having at least 60 percent of students enrolled in TVET,” he said. The education sector strategic plan targets to increase the percentage of students enrolled in TVET, as a proportion of total students enrolled in upper secondary, from the current 43 per cent to a target of 60 by 2029. ALSO READ: Target of 60% TVET enrolment by 2024 achievable - RTB boss Specifically talking about TVET, he said that its current dedicated policy was set up in 2015 which is meant to emphasise the relationship between education and the labour market. He indicated that the TVET curriculum was revised to be aligned with NST1 (the government’s development programme that was implemented from 2017/2018 to 2023/2024). “We are again reviewing this so that we align with NST2. The reason for this is that jobs on the market keep changing. So, we should look at economic sectors that are trending so that we know where to focus efforts,” he said. Talking about labour market alignment, he said that it looks at the already existing economic sectors in Rwanda, and those are expected to be introduced in the country and then understands what is needed to adjust the curriculum to that end. “Labour market alignment helps us to know what is needed and to match our education with market needs,” he said. Another factor under review, he pointed out, is competence-based curriculum and training. We should also consider how exams are done, in a way that ensures comprehensive learning assessment,” he observed. ALSO READ: Rwanda launches aviation training centre Undertaking new programmes, including aircraft maintenance Regarding the existing programmes and how they are expanded or upgraded, he said that after considering NST2, two new programmes were introduced. They are an advanced diploma in airline and air operations, and an advanced diploma in biomedical equipment technology. These were set up because of the government’s programme that included economic sectors related to those two things. “There are other programmes we are considering now [they have not yet been introduced], which we realise will be needed in the coming days. They include the introduction of an advanced diploma in aircraft maintenance. This, he said, is in line with the international airport being set up in Bugesera, Eastern Province, “because we realise that there will be many airplanes landing there, hence making such skills necessary.” Also, he said that Rwanda Polytechnic and Akagera Aviation were cooperating on the establishment of an aviation academy for advancing training in aircraft piloting, which is also responding to the country’s development agenda, and moving with the times.
