The Ministry of Education has said that there is a need to work with partners so as to equip over 88,000 teachers in secondary, primary and nursery schools with laptops to facilitate smart learning in Rwanda. So far over, just 2500 teachers have received the laptops according to officials who said that One Laptop Per Teacher initiative launched last month is being implemented under the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) running up to 2024. The need for partnership to meet the target to distribute laptops to all teachers was expressed last Friday as Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB) received 2,755 tablets and 30 laptops from USAID-funded project dubbed Soma Umenye. The devices will be distributed to school heads and teachers in public and government-aided primary schools. Other beneficiaries are district and sector education officers countrywide. The devices are expected to facilitate local education officials and headteachers to collect and use data about children’s learning, and to coach and provide professional development for teachers to improve smart classroom instruction. Gaspard Twagirayezu, the Minister of State in Charge of Primary and Secondary Education said that the devices will also ease access to a wide range of reading materials including digital books, digital books in Rwanda sign language and also support early grade reading programme to improve foundational reading skills. The drive, he noted, is in line with implementing ICT in education policy by equipping teachers with needed ICT teaching materials. “In order to equip our students with 21st-century skills, our teachers and school heads must be comfortable with ICT and have access to devices to support teaching and learning. The pandemic has demonstrated, more than ever, the importance of ICT for effective communication, work and learning,” he said. He said that equipping all teachers with laptops and other ICT teaching tools is a long-term plan that requires working with partners to mobilize resources though he didn’t reveal the required budget in an interview. “We have started to distribute laptops to teachers. It is a long-term project that is in line with ICT in education policy. The distribution continues,” he said. USAID Rwanda Director of Education, Luann Gronhovd said that they will continue to support Rwanda’s education in many ways including drive in ICT in education policy implementation. “We are committed to our partnership with the Ministry of Education and Rwanda Basic Education Board to improve the quality of education. Ensuring that children master foundational skills in the early grades, including the ability to read, is essential for success in school,” she said. She noted that USAID has invested $85 million from 2016 to 2021 in supporting Rwanda’s basic education. Director-General of Rwanda Basic Education Board, Nelson Mbarushimana reiterated that the integration of ICT into education from early age in basic education is critical adding that it requires teachers and school leaders to have access and be well conversant with ICT tools.
