Rwanda Education Board (REB) has urged schools to organise peer learning sessions for their teachers in order to better prepare for schools ahead of reopening. The announcement followed an appeal by teachers to government for a refresher training following months of inactivity. Particularly, teachers from rural areas noted that refresher training is a good initiative because most of them had totally deviated from teaching. In response, Irénée Ndayambaje, REB Director-General, urged schools to prepare peer learning sessions at school level, citing that it would be risky to bring together all teachers during the current Covid-19 situation. However, he said, “Teachers as professionals do not always necessarily rely on planned training from national level” advising that, “They organized peer learning sessions at school level”. Given that continuous professional development courses have become mandatory for teachers career progress, Ndayambaje called onto the teachers to devise ways and conduct individual assessment. “There are free accessible teachers’ training manuals on the REB e-learning platform. Teachers should read them, internalize them and practice the acquired knowledge.” Ndayambaje added. A recent schedule from the Ministry of Education indicates that primary and secondary schools that follow the national curriculum will reopen in phases, starting next month. However, pupils in lower primary (public schools) will have to wait longer for in-person classes. Meanwhile, higher learning institutions in the country have resumed physical classes.
