The Government is designing a strategic plan that will make it possible for the education sector to adopt Information and Communication Technology as a primary enabler of access to education. The Minister for Education, Prof. Silas Lwakabamba, said Rwandans need to take bold steps including the acquisition of computers by teachers to avail digital content and help promote self learning. “It is imperative for Rwandans to be equipped with 21st century skills such as critical thinking, problem solving and innovation, among others,” the minister said. The minister was speaking at a retreat for education stakeholders in Rubavu District yesterday. The retreat started on Tuesday and is expected to close today. The strategic plan will reportedly be designed to indicate how ICT in education strategy will be rolled out across the country. Other partners involved in the development of the strategy include Rwanda Development Board (RDB) and Intel Corporation as a strategic advisor. Intel Corporation is one of the world’s largest Semiconductor manufacturers. The retreat aimed at evaluating strategies to infuse ICTs at all levels of the education system to enable self learning and improve the quality of education. Participants also discussed measures aimed at ensuring that all education institutions and schools are connected to the internet and have access to digital libraries. The plan is also expected to create requirements and standards for digital content while developing locally relevant interactive multimedia content in partnership with publishers and the private sector. Under the strategic plan, all university faculties will be required to produce and run their courses online and students will be given loans to buy computers to facilitate their learning. The Minister for Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, said his ministry plans to exploit the opportunities presented by technologies to transform the education sector. “We are doing this because we are at a time when the country is moving into a knowledge based economy. We think the level at which ICT supports the education sector needs to increase,” Nsengimana said. The retreat follows a three-day conference in Kigali on innovation in education and ICT dubbed; “Innovation Africa 2014” where participants explored ways of increasing ICT’s role in education.
