How many students would want to become teachers at the end of their courses? Few, if any! Although it fosters every other profession, the teaching profession has itself continued to be shunned by many students in most societies around the world because it apparently does not have much to offer in the way of social prestige or material comforts; and Rwanda is no different. Only a few countries in the world, notably the Scandinavian countries, have managed to make the Teaching profession as prestigious as say, Law and Medicine, making it just as attractive to brilliant young minds as the other ‘super’ courses.

As Rwanda this week joined the rest of the world to mark Teacher’s Day, the state of teachers and of the profession itself has come under scrutiny, with practitioners and policy makers reflecting on the gains that have been made and what remains to be done to improve the welfare of teachers and the overall quality of teaching.

An ever-recurring issue in discussing the state of the education system is the ‘plight’ of teachers, especially as regards their remuneration. It is no secret that teachers are normally among the least paid professionals, and many of them struggle to make ends meet and provide a reasonably decent living for their families.

Donat Muramutsa, 36, is the Head teacher of GS Gikomero. He has served in the profession for 13 years now, and maintains that teachers need help if they are to become self-sufficient.

"The question of ‘the plight of teachers’ still holds water. Teachers can only make reasonable investments when facilitated in one way or the other.”

The happily married father of two has managed to cater for his family’s needs, including their feeding, education and healthcare. However, he has had help.

"Earlier,” he explains, "it was very hard to survive on teaching alone until government introduced several initiatives to help the teachers.”

SACCOs: building teachers’ financial muscle

One of the most revolutionary initiatives in improving teachers’ livelihoods has been the move to help them more easily access credit services. Among these initiatives, are the teachers’ Saccos that allow them to access both short term and long term loans, mostly for developmental purposes.

Currently, one of the biggest Saccos in the country is Umwalimu Sacco, which was started in 2008 to provide credit for teachers, who provide the lion’s share of its membership.

According to Joseph Mugire, who was until recently the head of Marketing in the Umwalimu SACCO, "The SACCO started with 20,000 members, all of whom were teachers from different districts.”

"Today the SACCO has over 70,000 members, of which 90% are primary school teachers, 9% secondary school teachers, with the remaining membership subscription coming from the education ministry.”

This sort of credit access has gone a long way to improve the lives of teachers from several districts.

Edward Mshimiyimana, a teacher at GS Butamwa in Nyarugenge district, has over the years been able to access more than one loan from Umwalimu SACCO, which he used to acquire land and start a farming project that is currently supporting his family.

"I can afford good education for my two children. I also don’t have to rely on my salary to buy food,” he says.

Another (primary level) teacher in Rwamagana reveals that at one point he earned less than Rwf 30,000 as monthly salary, which made it almost impossible for him to acquire a loan from the bank.

"It was such a big problem for us to access bank loans because we were regarded as not credit-worthy due to our low incomes,” he says, adding that even the few who managed to get them found the interest rates incredibly high.

"The Sacco has completely changed things for us,” he says. "Although the duration of loan processing is rather lengthy, the credit from the Sacco has improved our mode of life.”

Girinka Umwalimu

The interventions to improve teachers’ livelihood are not limited to credit access. In 2009, the Ministry of Education launched the one-cow-per-teacher campaign called ‘Girinka Umwalimu’. Through the project, more than 1,000 cows have so far been distributed to teachers.

Improving professional competence

In a rapidly changing world, another problem facing teachers has been how to do quick research and keep abreast with the trends. The issue of technology compliance is also becoming increasingly more important, and yet most teachers cannot afford technological equipment such as laptops, modems etc that would greatly aid them in their work.

As an initial response to this problem, the Rwanda Education Board (REB) started awarding the best performing teachers with materials that could help them perform their duties better.

In March this year REB awarded the 87 best performing teachers for 2012 and 2013 from the different districts for contributing to quality within education sector with laptops, modems and a host of other materials aimed at easing their practice.

This move has had the double effect of improving the capability of the winning teachers to do research and utilise technology in their teaching, as well as act as a motivation for more teachers to work even harder as they compete to land some of these awards.

However, while they appreciate the numerous initiatives aimed at improving their livelihood, most teachers believe that the ideal is still a long way off as a number of bottlenecks still remain.

Challenges remain

Some teachers insist that teaching is not given the same priority as other professions. Commenting on the matter, Edward Muwonge a Physics teacher at Riviera high school says, "Teachers are unfortunately challenged with a common problem of little and delayed payments in some schools.”

Parents have also been accused of failing in their duty to properly raise their children, leaving the discipline of their children mostly in the hands of teachers. which has made fighting indiscipline in schools difficult.

"Failure of parents to engage in shaping their children has bred disrespect within students towards their teachers,” Muwonge explains

Students speak out

Muwonge and his fellow teachers will be glad to know that some students actually revere and appreciate the professionals who sacrifice to ensure that they get an education.

According to Joanna Bwiza, a student at Riviera High School, teachers deserve respect.

"Teachers need to be treated with respect because of the great work they do in society,” she asserts, before adding, philosophically, "They should be regarded fairly since all professionals go through their hands.”

Change is coming

Officials from the Ministry of Education admit that a number of challenges remain. However, they insist that the battle for teachers’ welfare is a gradual process that will require everyone’s participation.

If there is anyone who appreciates the importance of teachers, it is Dr. John Rutayisire the Director of Rwanda Education Board, who was quoted in a previous interview as saying: "No system is greater than the quality of teachers and there would be less development countrywide had it not been for the teachers we have today.”

"The government is aware of the challenges that have hindered the education system as a whole, and teachers in particular, but everything is being done to make teaching a better profession. It will take some time, but we shall get there” Dr Rutayisire promised.

Teaching still "The Noble Profession”.

According to statistics from the Education Ministry in 2011, there were about 67,196 teachers in 5,505 schools across the country. These are in charge of 3,024,447 learners countrywide.

Joanna believes in her teachers and looks up to them to provide her with all the information, knowledge and skills that she will need to succeed. As flattering as such absolute trust may be to the educator, it also places a huge responsibility on their shoulders.

Every adult knows that the hopes and expectations of the young can be an almost impossible burden for anyone to carry; all the more reason to appreciate the teachers who do this every day for hundreds of students.

What teachers think about their day

David Musabyimana

I appreciate the achievements of some exemplary teachers. However, Teacher’s Day in its current form seems to only recognise high profile people who are in the sector for prestigious purposes. As a teacher I believe Teacher’s Day should target all teachers irrespective of their age or experience.

Domitille Mukarutamu

Teaching as a profession used to be respected and everyone wanted to become a teacher. But you go to any class today and ask students how many want to become teachers and only a handful will put their hands up. Reason? Because students now know that teachers don’t earn well.

Vitor Emmanuel

I am happy as a teacher and would have participated in the Teachers’ Day celebrations if I wasn’t held up some where. Ofcourse we have some challenges but you cannot have everything in life. I encourage teachers to join Saccos.

Felicite Ayinkamiye

The thing about teaching is that you must give it 100%. This means you must wake up early daily and be committed to your work. I love teaching because some of my students have succeeded in life which is very satisfying.

Edward Simpunga

Quality education is only possible when teachers are comfortable. Teachers will only be comfortable when their salaries are commensurate with their effort. Experienced teachers are now leaving the profession because they cannot raise enough money to cater for their families.

Richard Asu

Students should learn to recognise their teachers on such big occasions. Teachers usually struggle with weak students until they pass their exams and even succeed in life and that’s it. It would be motivating if these students spared some little time to check on their former teachers.