The Ministry of Education is set to receive a grant of $17.64 million (about Rwf12 billion) as part of a $235 million package to support education in developing countries.

The funding, from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), is a timely boost to the country’s education sector which is undergoing several reforms to put in place a system that will pass out learners with relevant skills required in the current competitive job market.

Skills-gap remains a thorn in the country’s development effort coupled with institutions that churn out graduates that employers say lack the employable skills.

On top of other measures already in place, this is one of the challenges that this fund should address.

Indeed, the objective of the fund is in line with the country’s long and short term education development objectives. Over the years, the ministry has taken several measures to revamp the education sector at all levels from primary to tertiary education. If this fund is implemented well, it will go a long way in achieving quality and universal access to education.

Under this funding model, beneficiary countries are expected to improve equity, efficiency and quality in education by linking a proportion of the funding to results. And this is what Rwanda has been trying to achieve in the education sector. This fund will accelerate the efforts to achieve this goal.

In allocating the funds, priority should be given to the vulnerable youths, especially those who dropped out of school, and training of teachers, particularly at the lower primary level.

The fund is a vote of confidence in the country’s education strategy and plans and we should leverage on it to make a difference in our education sector in terms of access, quality and relevance.