The Ministry of Public Service and Labour (MIFOTRA) has recruited 1,038 teachers after they passed exams last year. The government has also embarked on another recruitment process as it seeks to hire at least 29,000 teachers for primary, secondary, and Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET). The figure is higher than the 7,214 teachers that had initially been planned to be recruited by Rwanda Education Board (REB), as part of the efforts to improve the students to teacher ratio. The stands at 59:1 in primary and 29:1 in secondary schools. According to the Ministry of Education, the approved teachers are ready for deployment in the 2020/2021 academic year. Dr. Irenee Ndayambaje, Director General of REB told this newspaper that the recruitment process was going smoothly despite the prevailing coronavirus pandemic. “There are two recruitment centres in each district, respecting Covid-19 preventive measures of social distancing. Each room will accommodate 15 candidates,” he said. Ndayambaje also observed that the high number of teachers comes at a time the government expects a surge in student enrolment for the next academic year. “The government is building new classrooms with expectations of new children enrolling in September, so these teachers will be on the waiting list to be placed in any school where necessary,” he asserts. Schools and other learning institutions are expected to reopen in September, after they were halted in Mid-March, to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.
