Country report on education in Rwanda

Country Paper NO. 8

UNITED NATIONS

ECONOMIC COMMISSON FOR AFRICA

PUBLIC ADMIMSlXATZON, HViWiN RESOURCES AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT DNISIQN

Ad hoc Experts Group Meeting on Assessment of Confidence Building Factors in School Curricula 18-21 October 1993, Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)

COUNTRY REPORT ON EDUCATION IN

RWANDA

PUBLIC AmMINPSZ4TION,

H

DEVELOPMEAR DPIV;BSfiDN

Ad hoc

IExplerts

Group Meeting

on

Assesrmeimt

of

Confidence BIB Factors

iol

School Cwficrsla (18-21 October 1993, Addis Ababa, Ethiiopia.)

COUNTRY mPO8:T

ONI

EDBJGALT18N

IN

QONTStlT

.0. ITORODUCTIOH ^*

1.2. Educational tkrcund • ,

•• ' *

— ""

1.2.1. Before independence

1.2.2. After independenc •»

2.0. EDUCATION S?S1M JflD

2.t. Structure of the education ^stem in Rwanda •

2.21 The School Heform ^

2.3. Primary Education • '"""

2.4. Secondary ^cation • •

2.5. -Tertiary ^cation • *

3.o. am process as- curhiculuh DsraLOPMEM » " ^

4'.o'. KAJOR EDUCiffllCHilL ACHIWafflNHS "" "

™«mwr«nw AKST1 /ttr*T.TjnirtH!S Cffi1 SDUGASJIO^*. •• - 10

5.1. Education of the growing school-age population... .« ^ 5.2. Lack of material and financial reBOurces •

«H«fHI ••• •*

5.3. Stock of teaohers * 12

5.4. Scientific and technology fields """•''

5.5. Environment Education ••

5i aender education vis I vis women's role in development «

5.7. Literacy proves and activities- • '

5.8. Education for peaoe and health

6.0. COHOLUSIOH MB HB0OWEHBATION3 '

RMANDA i s a small land1ock:ed aentral Mrican cotlntry s o v e r i t ~ an area of 26,338 square kilowetres. It Ilorders four countries :

~ & d a t o the north, Burundi t o t h e south, Tansania t o t h e trwt and

&&re do the west.

Agriculture is the main eoanondo w d i v i t y which employs

9%

of. the active population.

Rwanda has no% many national resources. But, b e o w e of iits beexlty (.tandsoape) and climate, it isr cornonly called ' m e land of one tlioousmd h i l l s " or t h e llSwitasrlaad of &2%ca1l or "The Countqr of

&ernrS Spring".

T m naGiond p a r h contribute Go the development of t owism : The r a National Pwk" where one can admire a variety of animczls end .the *'Pilt.k of Volosnoesw ((Pm National des Valaans) which i t 1 t h e horn of t h e l a s t species of' nNounts&n Gorillas" (Gorilla goril.La beringmi ).

Kiwarwanda i s the national lsutguege. Kinywwmda and Gre~lch ape o f f i o i a l languages.

R w d s gained its independence i n 1962, aft@ ^a, succeesive c o l u n i d rule, t h e G s ~ m m s d t h e Belgians.

1.2.

'1.2.8. ii'duoaticn i n R w a n d e f o r e i n d e ~ e n d e r a

The formal system of education as s e w t d a y started witb %he missionaries. D u r i n g the G e r m administration, the miasioramies opened a fow schools shming a t evangelizing t h s indigemus".

I n 1924-1925, t h e Belgian administration s t b e d tho policy of mducation with the collaboration of' the miaissionarien, and t h e main abjeotive of d u c a ~ i o n at t h a t period w a s t o tomh t h e majoritr of t h e papula&ion how t o read, write and calculate.

The education a l s o airried a t preparinqz people who were needed i n t h e colonial admimistrs.tion.

1.2.2. -ducation a f t e r iadependanca

A t independence, 'the aountry t r i e d t o increase t h e number of primary and se,conulary schools. Higher insti0utions were also creat ed (Neztiond Unive~sity of Bwutl,ia9 Te&her ~pai&ia$

bnstitute)r But, tho structure of the eduoatiou sysho~n a d t h e programtoes weiw still adopted fram t h e colonial &ml.nistr~t~ian at all levels. Ths aystam was not ad ed t o the nadrional.

r e a l i t i e s . 911u psimtuy schuol could not enable the, gupilw t o possessthe knowledge md t h e a b i l i t y nmessarg f o r Ifhem *o be direofly produotive. ' h e main purpose of t h e p r i w school w a s t o t r a i n t h e pupils f o r the seocmdary school. whioh could

acoo~mcda+e

6s

of t h e ohildren.

The secondary schocl mainly prepared people f o r higher education

( ~ n i v e r s i t ~ ~ I n s t i t u t e f o r higher siucation] 8ad did not products qualified c i v i l servants needed i n t h e country. The system was not adaptecl t o social red.itf~os. It was selective and favlaurmi the creation of a small c l a s s of

"White Oallars" who would despise mimual work, I n the same way,l;he system neglecimi cultural r e a l i t i e s . Pedag13gioal materials wese designed mcording t o fertbgu standards and the national l ~ ~ a g u s g w

( I C i w y s ~ d ~

vehicle of Rwmdal aulture) could no% have i t 5 i m p ( ~ r t a r a c w i n secondmy sohools and a t University level. 1-t was therefore high time f c oreato a system which would t&e info aacoimt t h e Rm'ima s o c i d , e~:onomin and cultural reality.

The edunation system i n R w d a has t hirr strutatwe : 6 years f o r primary educationl 6 or

4

years f o r seoondiiq txluoation, 3 years f o r po~st-primary duoation 4 a minimum of

4

years of Ihiiversity edu12ati.m~

I n Rwmda, children can attend pro-rirnarg education., but this1 i s n(3t a

pre-mquisite f o r entry i n t o primxy elluoation, Most 0% pre-printary nu~lseyg achcels which cian be fotwd. i n t h e co~urtry w e privately owned., bnt t h e itinistry of

Primary. and Sarjondary &luc&J.o~i is d i r e c t l y i.nvolved in t h e aotion of pronatsdhg pru-pri.wry ed.wa%ion.

Upon completion of' t h e s i x year prcgrarw of primary education, s nationd.

examination i n u s e d ^aq that basis f o p s e l s t i o n f o r entry i n t o second.ary

sshool. Not everybody can ~U6C13ed in this exm, and n%iL1, not averyl~cdy oan have a p l s e i n secodaey s c h o o l s ~ So, three categories of pupils r : m be noticed after completing p r i m m edwation r

L

Some, p k i l s (the minority) join public: or private uacoadary sahoolrq

-

Some przpils (the majodtg) have b,o stqy with t h e i r parents i n rural areas uaitho~ut .my postiprimib~p rentodial. st udies;

Let us mention. %halt pupils who join sec:c:ondag school (priva%e or public) m e

w&e& diploma & w o o ~ l . e t i n g eithez

6

years ^OP

4

gears. The pupils tihc coaplete 6 years a r e e l i g i b l e Bor Lidvos'eity afudiee and t h e ones who complete

4

years w e n& expected t o have s o o s u t o University or any kind & higher

As f o r University, the B.A. degree i s gained a f t e r two years of study, t h e W.A. (Licenoe) a f t e r

4

years. Before 1987, t h e Btvahelor's w a s gained

after 3 years of study and t h e hurter's a f t e r 5 years. TWO ~~12001s still have a different scheme : t h e school ^@f &ononly awards the Be& a f t e r 2 years of study and t h e

&A

a f t e r 5 years. Then, there i s t h e Medical.

School whose first degree is awarded a f t e r

7

years of training.

After giving brief explanation about t h e organisation-al struoture of the formal education i n Rwanda, we structure of the formal education i n Rwandap we consider it suitable t o give more d e t a i l s about t h e education system at t h e three levels: primary, secondary and t e r t i a r y ; and t o t a l k about ref oms that have taken place.

2.2, The School Reform

One cannot speak about education i n Rwanda without mentioning the school reform launohed i n 1977 after popular consultations throughout the comtm.

This reform was implemented i n

1979

at the primary level, i n 1981 a t secondary level and i n 1987 a t Univarsi+y level.

The main objeotives of this school reform can be sunhnarized as _follows :

-

Universal basic education (primary level)

-

Integration /linkage of eduoation

+

productive r u r a l subjects : agriculture, animal husbandry, handicrafts and domesti0 science (primary

+

poat-primary levels)

-

Specialization and vocational t r a i n i n g (secondary

+

University levels).

2.3. Primary Wucation

The Primsry a u c a t i o n has these objectives :

-

To assure t h e civic, moral and i n t e l l e c t u a l education t o t h e child8

-

To provide t h e basio knowledge necessary t o t h e praotical l i f e

-

To provide t h e basic howledge that should be considered a ^sllj.

t

Bble pre-requisite f o r t h e post primary and t h e secondary education.

The priararg soh001 attendance i s f r e e and oonipulsory and t h e age f o r admission i n primary school is

7

years. Children under 7 years can be accepted i f there i s a special permission given by t h e Blinister of Primarg and Secondarg &mation.

As mentioned &we, the Primaq education is now made up of a s i x year prop-e. The school reform had introduced a 8 year progrannie a t t h i s

level, but after t h e evaluation of t h e school refonn a& p q u l consultations made through a l l t h e prefecturea of the country, an adjustment

7

revision of the reform has been proposed and t h e desire of the people w a s t h a t a s i x year progr-e would be adopted at p r i l e v e l insteadl of maint+n&ng a 8

g:

Oar programne. During t h e period of t syear programmap t h e pmmary educa Lon was given i n t h i s way : t h e f i r s t 3 years (form 4 ) aimed at giving t h e children b-ic elements i n reading, writing @Id calculation. nqartranda, t h e national and o f f i c i a l language of Rwandans had t o be used i n the classroom as the medim of instruction. The nexb 3 years (form 4-6) aimed at the

reinforcement of the knowledge previously saquired. A t t h i s level (Form

4)

French waa introduced as a new subject. The l a f r t $ years (forms 7-8), introduced by t h e school reform, emphasieed i r u t i a t s o n in60 different

h M c r a f t s . Subjects such as carpentry, bricklaying or mansory, agriculture, animal husbandry, domestic science, etc. were especially taught a t t h i s level.

The situation today i s t h a t the 8 year programme has been replaoed by a s i x

2.4. Post-Primary and Secondam &luoation

2.4.70 PostSri- Level

Me have nutieed that many yo- Rwandans cannot have access t o secondary school, t h e reaon being t h a t t h e country i s not able t o provide enough boarding-soh~ols, infrastructures and

ecluipment. So, some pu ils upon completion of primary education, join t h e IGentres f o r

8urd

a d Craftsmanship rnucationff

( C W ) .

The objectives of this post-primary educatian are :

-

To t r a i n t h e prcductive citizens, high@ responsible, broad-minded and able t o promote t h e s ~ i c w a o n ~ c and a u l t w a l conditions i n t h e i r r u r a l areas;

-

To promote t h e cooperative s p i r i t ;

-

To use these Centres ( G E M ) as a model f o r t h e p r o g e s s and development of t h e population living around t h e a

So, these Centres are e~qpected t o play a v i t a l r o l e i n t h e social, e o m d o and cultural change i n the area where t h e ~ r a r e located.

I n these Centres ( C W ) , t h e f ollowing subjects must be taught:

Religion, Kinyarwanda, Mathematics, Frenoh, History, Deogr@h,y, Divios, Bgrioulture and Animal Husbandry. Students have other p o s s i b i l i t i e s t o learn other subjects suah as carpentry and m-onry or bricklaying, domestic scienoe, child care, hygiene, f i r s t aid, etc.

2.4.2. Secondary level

Secondary Education takes e i t h e r 6 ye- o r 4 years t o oomplete.

The objectives of seoondary education are :

-

'Po provide a vocational and specialized training t o b e t t e r prepare

%iiddle o i v i l servants" mdnd"technioians"rsho would participate effeotivelg i n t h e development of t h e C O U ~ ~ W )

-

To prepare f o r higher education.

The school reform, which was implemented a t secondary level

i n

1981, emphasized the vocational training and speoialised professional channels, here they are :

3, School of Agrioultwe and Animal HuabmdW

-

Agronoqy Teohnicians

-

F o r e s t q Technicians

-

Veterinary Technioians

2. School of Teacher Training Education

-

Primaxy Teaoher Training School

-

Teohrmioal T e s h e r Training School 3. School of Sciences

-

^{Maths and} m s i c s

-

^Biology and Chemistry

-

^{Latin and Sciences}

People sejr that t h e Ychcol Reform has not imprwed t h e education system.

The outputs of t h e system w e noti oone9dered b e t t e r than t h e ones who were trained before t h e Re~fcm ~ealmeases t h a t are observed are supposed t o hare these orSgins r

-The selection f o r entry t o secondary school may be inadequate, especially when etbnio and regional considerations ape Laken i n t o mcountg

-French, which i s t h e medium of i n s t m c t i o n at seoondarg level, i s not well masberel

st

primiuy level!

-

Students' knowledge i.s not adequately evalszated and i t i s not uncommon t o meat stud.entrs who are prcmoted to higher olaasos whea thqy should stay i n l o ~ r e r classes as repeatwsq

-

Same students laok disoipline and active p a r t i ~ i p a t i o ~ n i n c.laris;

-

There are also s t d e n t s who lack motivation, especially when they say that they do not have any ambikion t o g3 f o r high~er cndncakiom a t University level.

.-

^{There are} other reasons related t o ourricul a r t eachers, i u f r a t r w t m e s , teaching m a t s r i a l ~ , equipment, eta.

Old programmes were lists of topios t o shaw t h e teacher what ~ / h e has t o teach. Ncwdws, we use wowrictel.a@ which _--,- learnm w i l l be able t o do a f t e r a apemifio period of time

aia

a o c o r d i . ~ ~ t o speciPio vocational t r d n i a g . The ~ m r i c u l u m Besign is "learnm--w+nratercrde81

The o w r i o u l a hame the following ohwmtariet:~ca r

-

Tlhe objeotives we hope tb.e l e a ~ g e s will. aktain 13ftsr a a p ~ w i f i o pa1~5,od o:ie trainings

-

TIM aktitudos) l a f o ~ l e - ~ slbi13.6 and values we T&& cpr lamarner's t o

;acq&e%

-

^%e leamdng a o t i v i t i e s t o t a b i n t o moount t o &%Bin t h e intended objaatives?

- ^Tha

teachi&learlaing materials: t o we8

-

The t e o ~ q u i ~ s t o use i n ordar t o detemine &sther t h e desirable purposes w e attblinetl (evalw1;ion)

N&hiry: oar3 be s t i ~ t e d without uonsidering the needs, i n t w e s t s and %he s k b l l s

of t h e p i q i l s u

The ev&l.matom have noticed that ⁶⁰⁰ mmy d e t a i l s were included i n snarrioirba 9t111, the&? daunt seem . r e d i s t i 0 when we want t h e oi.rkputa,%@ tlio same time, be suitable for higher education a t Univemity leve:L,

I&en p r e p s i n g ~ l r r i o u l a . , i% i s also d v i e e d t o take i n t o axpco~unt the time jLlocated Zo the tes:hi:ng of each subject. And it Srs reooimended t o

ensure t h d ; the eontent correspond t o the ol~,jectives s t & & i n %he o u r r i ~ u l ~ b A speejid a2twrtion i m also req?riWl s o ^ibs ti3 show clearly w f i h h attitudes

thra atribpwts a$ t h e sohaol ;system are e:gpec%ed t o

%?@ire,

lphe aspeat that must nckbe forgottan by curric~ilum developers a t I seocndisr~r Level is t o consider what M.nd of pre-reqdsiteer t h e pupils have

aoquired at primary level, especially .i:n French, Math

and

Scimoe. T h i s would.

ermable crariouluin developers t o @fe

t h

pupils t h e lmowledge they reall$ n o d

1

at seoondaqr i ~ e : f . a

I

Textbooks or Mmuals

--

Texbbooks or manuals ( P ~ L P 1 l n ~ ~ book:

and

tea&er's guide) have bsen evduated. F r i e t of dl, textbooks in most schools are not a v a i l d ~ l e . It i s not uncommon t o m e t 3 or

4

pupils sharing one copy (textbook) i n . class. But t h e quantity i s n& t h e tnilg mpect t o consider. Other aspects mire noticed i n these oonsiderations %

The textbooks pscdvned by %he two "'Currioulum ]ncmel~gment Cen%resSQ tzy- t o take i n t o acoount the r s a l i t i o a of the oounitqt, the p ~ o b l m b e i w t h a t one o m f i n d t h e oon%ent mot adapted t o t h e 3.evel of the pupils.

The point t o mention p&+ic:nlWly is t h a t the pupils ~ h m d v w give suggestions aa f s r aa t h e i r tsc&bookra a r e ooz~cemed, here m e sonab .s

-

^{manuals must be e w} t o menipdate

I

mm&s

must be i l l u s t r a t e d w i n g appropriate colors

- ^{m m d s}

^must not be given t o schoolaJ before experts hzme admitted t h e oontant i s oorrecst and ~ 1 p 4 ~ i a t e ~

-

mfhnwds must o o n t d n exann]?Ies talcen from Rwlrndan bsakgromd

..

S o i e a t i f i c manuds mt be &&ed do local r e a l i t i e s

..

Enough exercises (qpPliodioas) mustbe included i n m;muds

-

Using te&ng materials takaua from booal exhvirgmmt, etc,

-

Same schools have tesmhem t h q do no% need,. I n this

nw9

^some tetu3;~ers

w e imderemployed;

- ^N&

^{a l l} teachers participate i n in-aervice training s,essiorasg

Not all ternhers have been trained i n methodology

and

~ ~ o

.

g F This contributes t o the habit of some of: these e d u c a t a ~ s t a sa~r that

they have no% applietl f o r LeaoMng profession. Thw are %aaohers because they have n& found anothuxb kind of jab,

the teaching psofesdan i s not very attraa%ive, there is f ao muob work t o do when you are a 2iea0heq

.

te&hers are no% respoctirerl

in

t h e i r society.

F a c i w thi&

lclnca af

situa%i.on, some rnaasurw have been suggested :

-

Employ competent am5 motivat& t e a h e r s ;

-, Or&za in-senrice f r a i n i n g s e ~ a i o n r roosire frequeatlyj

-

Control t h e disoipl.ine o f t e m h m s j

-

^{T r y t o find employ Rwcjmdan teachers$}

-

Org&ae~ i n w e m i c e t r a i n i n g sessions f o r Principals (~e,&omrtws))

nf m h n n l n aYld t h e i r o o l I . e i b ~ ~ i d ~ ~ r s ( ~ r 6 f e t s dea % d @ s ) ;

I n evaluating the School Reform at secondazy level9 other partiouLer aspeota have been exazained and. t h i s h w been noticed :

-

Education i n Rwanda, shauld not only develop howledge but d s o

attitwles and moral, s p i r i t a d , e m t h e t i c values t h a t give meaning .to our d s t a n o e . Civic formsbion should a l s o be given adeqwtelly £10 m t o have an individual who i s mare of his/hnr ~ e s p a n s i b W i t y as a citiaan.

-

Teachers and SohooP aukhorities ( ~ r i n ~ ~ i p d s or ~eadmast~srs) zlre required t o be models i n front of pupils as ^{fw as} moral, s p i r i t u a l o

~ ~ o & h e t i c values met oclnoe;-nude

-

Concerning the acquisition of attitudes9 it i a urgeat t o find a wgy of evaluating attitudeso and the pupil masf h n w i n which IMWS h i s l h e ~ attitudes m e evaluated. ^LO as l o h m e f i t f r m given cor.rec%icn i f necessary.

-

School curricula i n Hwanda swggest t h e acquisition of many attitudes, but it has been noticed t h a t t e a h e r s neglect then became it is

considered not easJr t o prepcpe t e s t s or exadnations t o evaluate attitudes.

.-

The pupils trained i n "Secr,etaria%; accounting and traduj Law and Mrdnistration; Technical S~ohools" have much thecsyo but not enougli practice. X t i s suggested t o plan "prastice lessons" f o r these pupiLs,

0- The nationnl language of Rrrwda, Unymwanda i s expected t o beoama t h e medium of instruotion i n futvre (even nowadays as f a r an some subjects are concerned, such as religion, geagraghy, h i s t o ~ j . .

.

^{, ') at primaqr}

and secondary levels.

To &t&n t h i s objective, some lmeasures must be taken :

Plan carefully i n M.hioln way ICin~rarwanda w i l l be use a s t h e medium of instruction in an efficierfc way;

.

^Prepare lists of t e o h ~ i o a l worda i n ItinlyamuancZtl, amording t o each sub jiact t o he taught y

Find qud.ified peirsoamel who can help Ln esta?~Pi.shing li*sts of t achnical wordcs i n Kiwa?wanda.

-

T e ~ h i n g materials illre not u i c ~ h i n R w d m sohools and labmatoritss ere n& well.-eqidpped. Foreign munt.rias have t r i d t o help, but the

problem i s not yet o o r ~ l e t e 3 y eolvred.

Z'lae &nistry of Primary and Seca&ey iB1pcatioz~ has decided t h a t i f w new school had t o be built9 t h e :PU)unds t h a t wo~ild be made available fbould be wed f o r building ithe ~suhool ad- bqr t h e nec;esslanJ teaching material@ or equipmart as well,

There w a s not; a22y Uni~rrarsiby i n Kwanda before indopendems. I?he National Univeruity of Rwanda w w established i n 9963 ( m e y e w z9tcxc f.ndopand@noe). It h m three c i q x u ~ o s I Butare, Kigali and R.uh.angevi.

Students who prooeed t o u n h e r s i t y are t h e mes who hawe

sucoessfully completed t h e 6 year p r o @ w e of secondary sohcol. But, there i s a system called "Jury Central" which was established t o help t h e unluahy ones who do not sucoessfully complete t h e seoondary education. The Ninistry of Primary

and

Secondary Mucation prepares examinations and anybody who

w a n t s

t o be award-ed a diploma (secondary level) can do t h e m exms. The successful candidates get diploma and a r e e l i g i b l e f o r University studies.

It i s not unoommon t o notice that most students f a i l when they are still i n t h e first year of University. People think t h a t these students fail beoause they have not been well prepared at secondary school level.

~ u t , we think that many f s t o r s have t o be considered i f One wants t o know why these students f a i l (e.g. selection of candidates, t h e quality of

teaohin@;, the way of marking students*8ssignmentsr etc. ). 'Phis i s not a problem t o be discussed here, emept that much more oollaboration between t h e "Curriculum Development Centres" and University would be t h e b e t t e r wey t o find dolutions.

The National University of R w d a is not t h e only institution f o r higher eduoation. Another University d s t s and it i s privately owned.

There are other i n s t i t u t i o n s f o r G&er edwation whioh focus on different domains such as pedagogy, c m p ~ t e r science, military sbudies, r e l i g i w s studies, agrononly, s t a t i s t i c s , etc.

The major problem t h a t remains is t h e d i f f i c u l t y t o pay f o r higher education. ' k e ~wenunent p w s f o r a lindted number of s t d e n t s , but, because 00 financial constraints, the other Btudents have t o pay f o r themselves without waiting

for

a s c h o l a ~ s h i p from t h e government.

There are two curriculum centres which a r e involved i n ourrioulum developments .the IIDPEPFRAISs (Division dea Programmes de l%seignenrent primaire e t de 1'Enseipement Rural e t &isanal Int&g%) and t h e "DPES" (Division dea Frogrames de l*Enseignernent ~ e c ~ n d a i r e ) . The '*DPEIPERAI1l is responsible f o r designing and produoing ourriculsr and teaohing materials at primary

and

post-primarg level, t h e "DPESI' plslgs t h e

same

r o l e a t secondary level.

The two &rrioulum Centrerinterpref t h e national goals i n

eduaati on, s t a t e objectives

and

propose teaohing 8yllabwes. They also prodwe textbooks book

+

teaoh&a guide)

and

are involved i n other

m t i v i t i e s s w h as organi5ing in-aexvioe training sessions f o r teaohers, inapeofion or suBervision

and

guidanoe and prepering national t e a t s and e x a m i n a t i o ~ r

To develop t h e curriculum, t h e following steps are oonsidered:

-

Analysis of t h e national goals

-

Identifying t h e needs

-

Statement of ob jactives (cycle by cycle)

-

Statement of ob jeotivea ( i e v s l by l e v e l ) -Selection and organisation of content

-

Seleotion, organisation

and

i n t e p a t i o n of learning a o t i v i t i e s (experiences)

-

^Soope and Sequenoe chart ( s o o r d i n g t o t h e timetable)

-

Development of t h e t e s h i n g syllabus (level by level)

-

Development of t h e Pupil's Book

-

Development of t h e Teaoherls Guide

The point t o notice i s that i n developira the ourriculwn, the three domains (cognitive, psychomator, affeotive) are considered when s t a t i n g objeotives.

The two curriculum oentres need human resouroes both i n quality and quantity. To solve t h e problem, some teachers are asked t o collabo+rate with t h e personnel of t h e two Centres i n order t o design and produce textbooks,

anal

speoial commissions ( i n which teachers parCicipate) are organised t o discuss teaching syrPabuses before they are sent t o sohools.

The aspect that is worth mentioning here r e l a t e s t o printing and distributing fedbooks alld other school materials. The "Imprimerie i3colairetl (a printing unit under t h e auChority of the Xinistrj of Primary and Secondary Education) helpsin printing and distributing textbooks. Other school materials can &so be found i n shops owned by the ~tImprimerie Soolaire".

4.

MAJOR EDUCA!rIrnBL ACWEUrnrnS

-

l'he Government has never sfopped seaKlhing f o r mpropriate wws of impilovi&g education a t all levels and adapt it t o national realities (School Reform, Revision of the Refom

..

^);

-

The Government has encouraged t h e establishment of private schools

(pe-prinraxy, primary, secondary and i n s t i t u t i o n s f o r higher eduoat ion) ;

-

The Government has opened and expanded secondary schools i n all parts of t h e countmy;

-

More i n t e l l i g e n t pupils have been selected f o r entry t o secondarg school;

-

D ~ ~ c h o o l s have been encouraged so a s t o inorease t h e number of pupils entering secondary school;

-

Llore technical schools are being b u i l t i n different regions of t h e country;

-

Basic knowldge i s encouraged. It haa t o be stressed i n t h e 2 first years of seoondary school, before specialiaing i n m e or man~r subjects5

-

The Ministry of Primary

and

Secondary rZZucation never forgets t h a t t e a h e r s as well aa Principals or Headmaatera of sohools mash be invited t o participate in-senrioe training sessions;

-

Teaohers partioipate i n d e s i e n g and producing teaohing syllabuses, textboolrs and other teaohing materials i n oollaboration with t h e two curriaulum

development centres (DPwW~~I+D%JS).

5.1, Muoation f o r t h e growing sohool-we p w d a t i o n

Most of Rwandan6 have already noticed that it is a right f o r each child t o have education. But not dl parents can be s a t i s f i e d aa far as a l o t of children do not have access t o existing schools creven i* they attend school t h e problem of drop-outs arises. Among m a w reasons f o r those drop-outs, there are poverty, f d n e , parents who

w a n t

t h e i r children t o stay a t home and help i n home a c t i v i t i e s , getting unsatisfactory marks i n e x a s and terts, etc.

Let us note that parents are doing t h e i r utmost t o create n m s e y crahoolss f o r t h e i r chilarent but parents from rur'al areas laok those kinds of schools.

Only urban parents and a anall number of educated people i n r u r a l areas (teachers a t primary apd secondary school) understand t h e necessity of suah

S O ~ O O ~ .

The situation of child.ren ~ l t t cawding primary soh001 r e v e d s t h a t in, f9909 cnlj. 74,$ of children ;gi& 7 ^yeas% e r e being educated a t thi2t 1 0 v d . ~ and 62$2$ of pupils aged 7-14 years were being educated. %an t h e ii3edi:would be t o educate 84ila cf ahildren aged

7

y e g s a d

65$

of pupile aged 7-14 years, we can conalude thaf there i.s s k i l l an. effort t o be done,

The point t o note i s ithat t h e <:ouatry haw no possibilit i e e t o educate1 a l l the sohool-age g ~ o p u k t i c ~ k h IhL3getary oonnfjraints, pove311;yt, overpopuLl&ion, fiailmcial groblema of przenl;s, eta. we there t o show t h a t t h e cotmtry needs foreign aid t o improve t h e s i t ~ n a t i o r s

5.2. Lack of material ~&£inaocial reaczr&o,q

This point i s partioulerly medioned here b e o w e the lmk of matcwial i s notioed at

.ill.

1.evels of t h e Rwarldaa aayEIGem of &mation, the1 reasons h~aring

It i s a f a c t that bilatez%l and m l t i l a t e r d l . caoperati.on exids

between Rwanda and other ocimtries, and ~rariotrs o r g d . s a t i o m t r t o hel-p, ~ b~2t we s e a t hope f o give education th:& fouters self.-aon&idenoe i f ' d e q ' w t e

memares are not found looally, reg;Tl.onaL:l,y

ancZ

intarne~tional1.y t o s o P a tho

crucial problem of lack of m a t w i d and financial resouroes. The way t o effective

.

& aotj.ve contribution of p@mtsl looid and foreign donors, o r g a n i ~ a t i o m a t dl l.evelsp different services of the ootnCry i s t o be found.

5.3. Stock cuf 1eaohms,

The Rwandan education system employs bwth qualified and unqualified teachfm, There @e also Rwandan teachera and teachers of Wher n;ztionali.ties ~ h o .%:Lively p&ioj.p&e i n eduoa*uion, Some o b s ~ m z t i o n s can be given t o clarify .&e

situation at primmy and s e ~ * , n d a r y l ~ , ? ~ e l s r

-

^{I n 1990,} a t primary level, t h e tot,al nnuber of teachers w a ~ 19,012, The, t o t a l number of qualified teaolwc-s at that level. was lOp772 (55*48$),

-

About the r a t i o ppil/*sasher .and ~ p u p i l / ~ u & i f i d tewher, we notiue this f o r the whole c o w t w r 5'1-"1 9 e 57.1 pupils fox each non qualified teasher) anCL '103.8 r 9 ( i

903.8

pupils f o r e&h qualified teiroher). This r e f e r s t o primacy h v e l .

- ^A%

p o s t q r i level

(O.ma),

^Bhare were 2037 teachers f o r t h e whole oo~ulitry 11%

,

^{and 2048} teaahem i n 90/91r t h e imsaasa being 0,.54

$&

oonrpnratively t o the number of tea3hera i n 89/90,

.-

^{A+ swondmy} level, we nwbice 'the following situation :

Let us note t h a t i n 89/90, -the .lacreaae was 89 teachers congar&ivelg t o 1865 teaohers i n 88/89 (.th<a t o t a l b&ng 9865+89 = 3954 teachers).

&at we c m say hhee is thzb t h e country would. t r y t o see & a t % a do i f it intends t o i~icreese t h e number of female tesclzrr~rs i n Maam ~ohoola,, find. more q d i f i e d ternhers, emplay l e s s than 25:'s of q a t r i a t e s a8

far

^a3

ool Reform recomendw t o teaoh Xwandan culture and use Kinyflwanda

(for sane subjects) as t h e mediusr UP instluction. S t i l l , it would be ua~eaLi&io t o say t h a t t h e Rwandan @am of aiucation i s going. -bo employ

I@%

o f Rwaadan teacham i n near future.

5.4. ~ u c & : i o n _{v -} i n S c i s n t i f i . ~

and

teclmolom f i e l d a

B e c a e of budgetary constraints menkione8 above, education ia

s c i e n t i f i o and f echnologf is not s t i l l s a t i s f a c t m y even i f a great e f f o r t has

& bj t h e country. The f a c t is %ha% a c i e n t i f i o schools

wta

in&if.u.tions for s~cien'cific researoh exis%. &en, a Mi&st?y f a t Higher &mation and. Soientific Resewoh can be fwd. i n . Rwanda. But, how scientific; and .

tecs,hnolugiod aclwation can be effec.f;iv.e i f t h e country often lack financial resources t o buy s c i e n t i f i c rqvllpmnt,lsuild and equip laboratories, tirain

iloiantific personnel? X t i s also advis&le t o have enough teahnologioal oorlsses a t national level,

5.5.

+riroanaent m u c a m

A Kinisfry of %uris!m and &rircmmmt exists i n Rwanda, i t s objoollve being t o [email protected] tourism a d . teaoh, people how t o preserve envirmunent. A &$eat

rff ^02% h m been &one throcyrh mned-ie~

(('lv,

Radio, newsgapem ) t o &vo. dw3&ion pelatad t o environment, &*en songs! have been oonpose& t o t e l l people ihak the emi&men-b must be protect;& i d lcept clean. Courrrea are given a t prin~azy. and socond.slry education t o trujirr pe0pl.e how t o respect t h e environcaen'k.

But, the wrjority of the population w e i l l i a e r a t e

and

do not r e a l i z e the inlportanoe of prubeoti.ng the e:nvi~'ommt. That i s why s u i t d l e

~tttiturles toasarh environn~ant a ~ e not adopted quiolsly(P6raste are d~aaCra$'rmL, t h e d r is polllrted, etc.

1.

So there i.s still too much t o be done t o charge

%he a t t i 2 d e s of the popuhtion.

We cannot forget t h a t l o c d and foreign org~xisa%ions help i n t h e presol'vation of t h e enviromaut i n Rwanda.

5.6. $mdez* duoakion vis&is r~o!man'ti rolls

i n

8.evelopmnt

The development of Rwrmda r(3qUBXes t h e garticip&ion

and.

contribution of wmme !Ph@ major r o l e plwed. 'by Hw,&m women i n f d l l e s and i n t h e development of t h e nation camnot be neglected. For example, women are

engagtd. i n agriculture, duc:ation of childreap prepwing food, elo, The new element t o take i n t o aaco1m.t i s t h a t feduaated women a r e now warki.zg w ~ t h mezz i n difftu'ab jobs outside th13 llousehold, P m e m p l e , Che i6llistay o f

a.nd Secondary Uucaticn (a* 2tadministrative level) employed

444

male workom and 263 fem3.e workers i n 1990.

As

far

as education i s concerned, out of the total number of 1,058,528 pupils a t primary school i n 1990, 525, 917 were girls and 532, 671 were boys. A t secondary levelt out of t h e t o t a l number of 33,887 pupils at secondary school 13,374 were g i r l s an8 20,5l j were bogs.

I n general, an e f f o r t is being*& t o educate women. There y e special i n s t i t u t i o n s at Moomune~* level t o help women t o aoquire basic knowledge i n ohild owei kygiene and home eoononiics. Let us s p e c i e t h a t a nconmune" i s an administrative unit (the ~ o u n t r y being divided i n t o l t prefectures, and prefecturea are divided i n t o comnunes).

An effort i s a l s o done t o educate girls at seoondary snd a%

University level.

lkne important point t o note is t h a t t h e number of female w o r k e r s should increme i n dl domains and t h e number of g i r l s attending secondary sohool as well as E v e r s i t y should increase

.

The great achievement of the country is t h e awareness of the fa& t h a t t h e t r a d i t i o n a l r o l e of a woman stwing at home and taking oare of children i s out-of-date. The woman t h e country wants i s the one who i s open t o

education and progress, t h e one who contributes effectively and i n various domains t o the development of t h e country. T h i s also means t h a t t h e woman w i l l not say t h a t she has attained a degree of development i f any aspect of her household w i l l hare been neglected.

There i s ^a "Ministry f o r the Promotion of Women and t h e F d v Development" i n Rwanda.

5.7.

Lifyeracy ~ r o ~and a c t i v i t i e s ~ e s

Literacy programmes and a c t i v i t i e s exist i n Rwanda. Without giving too many d e t a i l s i n this report, I can say t h a t l i t e r a c y programnes r e l y on

"funotional literacytt. I n t h i s way, i l l i t e r a t e people learn t o read. and write, but with focus on what they can understand easily so as t o contribute

efficiently t o t h e i r own development and t h e development of t h e i r country a f t e r t h e i r training.

5.8. Fduoation f o r D w e and health

People are educated so as t o be aware of t h e importance of peace i f a country wants t o develop. No development without unity,

and nobody ig+nores t h e damages t h a t can be cawed by w a r s or mlarndsrstmdings Pmong people. Civic education is given a t p r h r y and secondary levels i n the Rwandan sohool system.

Aa f o r education f o r health, population i n urban and r u r a l areas get education related t o "Elafer water?, clean f o d , sanitation, hygiene, child and mateI%al caret' without forgetting f a ~ 4 planning.

Education a t secondary and t e r t i a r y levels give enough knowledge i n Nutrition and Dietetics.

P r c g r m e s f o r teaching how t o avoid t'AIE3" have not been f orgotten.

A t national level, there are centres which give enough information about S D S , Various mediar(radio, TV, newspwers, posters) are used t o make all t h e

people aware of the danger which i s AIAIDS. Content about AIDS i s also being selected and organized i n order t o include it i n soh001 p r o g r m e s , each

level a t primary and secondary school being given a suitable content (here, t h e age and the degree of understanding the message are taken i n t o account).

6, CONCLUSION AND RZZGGDDIONS

A t the end of t h i s report, we Cannuk say t h a t a l l factors t h a t

"foster o r hinder self-confidence i n school curricula" have been mentioned. But, mPst of positive aspects of Rwandan school system have been shown,, and we think they contribute t o the acquisition of self-confidence i n t h e outputs of t h e eduoational system. The negative aspects have also been examined, We think these negative

aspects hinder self-oonfidenoe. I n general, we have t r i e d t o show how t h e school curriculum "foster positive a t t i t u d e s towards work and society; equip t h e produots of t h e sohool system with adequate a d relevant knowledge and skills f o r a productive l i f e $ f o s t e r self-confidence i n ourselves and i n our m development."

As

f a r as some negative aspects have been identified i n our school system, we propose the following recommendations t o improve it :

-

"Curriculdl should not be overloaded;

-

^Avoid

^werlw

among s a j e c t s ;

-

Imprave t h e quality of t?eachers at a l l levels;

-

Have enough quantity of qualified teachers a t a l l levels;

-The personnel of the Curriculum Development Centres must be good both i n quantity and i n quality;

-

Suitable management as f a r as human resources ase concerned;

-

Constant evaluation of the school system, texkbooks and other teaching materials;

-

^{T q r} t o produce enowh textbooks and do it ^rapidly;

-

Consider l o c a l r e a l i t i e s as f a r a s prozramnes and teaching materials are concerned;

-

Imprwe the way of selecting c m a d a t e s f o r secondary level;

-

Control discipline (teachers and pupils) at a l l levels;

-

Never neglect t o t e s t the acquisition of attitudes

$ d f ective domain);

-

requenthy o r g a n i ~ e in-service t r a i n i n g sessions f o r teachera and other educators;

-Prepare t h e list of technical words i n E~inyarwand~

-

assure t h a t the basic howledge is acquired i n t h e 2 f i r s t years of secondary education;

-

build more schools.