Dr Papius Musafiri was, last week, appointed the minister for education, replacing Prof. Silas Lwakabamba.The Ministry of Education has also been working on a sector review to improve performance. The New Times’ Solomon Asaba caught up with the new minister and he talked about various issues in the education sector including what his priorities will be. Below are the excerpts:

Doctor, there are many pending issues in the education sector. Fortunately, this field is not new to you, what are your priorities now that you have assumed office?

There are so many priorities and some will be competing with the resources available. But talking about resources, when you have too many things to achieve in a short time frame, you work progressively. It is possible to keep adding on what you have achieved before, and I will not pretend that I already know everything concerning the sector. However, there are things which you hear time and again from the population, the Rwandans, and definitely, we shall be guided by what Rwandans demand in terms of execution.

To start with, organising the system of student loan disbursement and recovery is one area we need to look at. This has been a bit difficult especially when the new academic year is beginning, and yet, providing financial support to students is very key for the success of the academic undertaking. The solution will, therefore be to ensure that the service is got in a timely manner. It is a priority we want to work on, so that, may be, in two months’ time, we shall be able to start a much smoother loan and bursary approach for even students studying abroad.

Number two; we want to look at quality of education in our country and that is starting from pre-primary up to higher institutions. It is thus a holistic approach and since quality assurance in the education sector is all-round, you cannot maintain quality at one counter forgetting another counter and think you are going to achieve substantial results. You need to look at the standards, the infrastructure, and the human resource capabilities, among others, to support this. At this time, may be, it is difficult to tell you what will come first, but like I said, we shall get all the actors at all levels involved to ensure students who graduate at the highest level of education do so at a desirable standard to contribute to economic development and compete favourably on the regional and global markets.

Most students who benefit from the loan scheme fail to pay, and some of those who study abroad don’t return to Rwanda, and by all means it has an impact on the economy. What is your take on this?

Yes, definitely there is an effect on the economy because when you send a number of students to study abroad, you do not do so just for the sake. You want them to go, study, come back and serve their country in the discipline where they are trained. In the first place, they are sent abroad because we may not have those facilities for the training in the country and, thus, the sector may be yearning for those kinds of professionals. So, if they go and stay there, the purpose is not achieved. Again, for those who are getting the financial support, it is equally important to pay back so that with time the money will be used to support the younger generation. That is why we need to make a kind of revolving fund.

Just a year ago, Rwanda Development Bank (BRD) was brought on board with an aim of improving the students’ loan scheme, and having served in a higher institution of learning, you are aware of the challenges. Besides, most students have complained about the same hardships. Are there any immediate solutions?

You have mentioned of moving the services from REB to one of the banking institutions. It has been decided and the Government is committed. We have identified Rwanda Development Bank for this responsibility, but implementation is yet to happen. Right now, we are in discussions with Parliament to pass the law which shall give mandate to the institution. You are talking about BRD, but it could be any other bank in the future. However, there should be a legal framework to empower whichever bank is selected to give it mandate in terms of loan disbursement and loan recovery, working with all other agencies which provide support information to help the bank reach out to recover the whole amount.

There are several benefits which go with that new arrangement. First; it is going to streamline the processing, which has been taking long — from the first counter of getting money, may be the Ministry of Finance and Planning up to the end-user. So, you find the chain is so long, and by the time it reaches the beneficiary, the delay is considerable. Now that it is going to be handled by the bank, we think that the process is going to be simple and fast.

REB has been doing it, but it has no capacity to handle loans. A student loan is not different from any other loan provided by the bank; that is why disbursement and recovery has been difficult.

Also, if we make the process simple, we shall be able to achieve efficiency, so, money will be saved and we shall increase the portion which goes to students. When you bolster the money revolving, you increase the beneficiaries and since the Government at one point will no longer shoulder it, we need the benefits that come along with streamlining other obligations of the different players.

Recently, the National Budget was read and some sectors had their allocations slashed. The education sector allocation was cut by Rwf 5 billion compared to last year. Don’t you think this will affect performance in the education sector?

I think experience has shown us that there is no moment when you shall have enough resources. This is not only for the developing countries, but also developed countries still face the same problems because demands are enormous all the time, and the resources we need to suffice the demands are always limited. So, we need to learn how to achieve efficiency, and this is to do more with limited resources without compromising the standards of the services you are supposed to provide. We need to be guided by that.

Although the budget may not be in tandem with our requests and plans, we need to go back and define our priorities. If we have many things we have to do, we need to rank them according to priority to see what comes first and last. I am pretty confident that if we can be guided by that philosophy and remove useless inefficiencies, we can still achieve our mandate as a sector given the budget allocated.

The issue of plagiarism especially in higher institutions of learning is a big problem. What should be the ultimate methodology to see that this does not continue?

I absolutely agree with you that because of advancement in technology, we have so many sources of information and when an assignment is given to a lazy person, they simply Google or use whatever website to download and put on the paper, and claim the work is theirs. In the academic arena, this is a gross offence. It is like theft because you claim something which is not yours, and with that habit you will not enhance the learning achievement.

We have been thinking of different methods to curb this habit and we are discussing with all institutions of learning to use the same technology to curb the vice. One of these is that whatever you do as a student, you do not submit using hardcopy — everything can be submitted online. Then, within the information management system used within each institution, a software can be embedded in the system to serve as a counter number one before even the work is submitted to the lecturer. The software will detect the amount of work which one has blatantly copied from other sources and when it reaches a particular threshold, depending on how it is coded, the work will be rejected and depending on the mercy of the lecturer, he will then decide on disqualification or retake. If we do that, I am sure many students will stop engaging in plagiarism.

Similarly, the lecturer may receive the submission and assess freshness, but this does not come on a silver plate. We need to create a system to be in place at all levels, and students need to be provided with electronic devices if they do not have full time access.

We have a project with library for all to see that even the simplest smart phone with the lowest resolution can be used to access electronic content. So, if we create that environment and sensitise students and lecturers, I think we shall find a solution after comparing with other countries.

The 12-Year-Basic-Education programme has been successful and the ministry believes that now target should focus on quality. Do you agree that we have achieved access and should turn to quality?

Quantitatively, we are almost reaching there. We have got as many Rwandans into the education system; it is like we have achieved a very commendable milestone. Now it is time to consolidate on site and as I said before concerning quality, there are so many variables that ought to be looked into at each level like: quality of entrants, books, teachers, lecturers at university and colleges, infrastructure — actually the entire learning environment, even students and parents.

They should know that going to school is one thing, but getting the education to help you is another thing. Hence the population should also be aware it is not going to be just the type of paper you have, but even the knowledge and what can you do with that to go forward.

Next year is a year for implementing the revamped curriculum. Are you comfortable with it and there are necessary tools for rolling it out?

I would continue to say that the brand new competence-based curriculum is not a matter of knowledge, but what can you do with the knowledge. This took almost three years to study to make sure that it is perfect.

The challenge is how mobilised enough are we to implement it, but the quality is going to be good. I know it will enhance quality significantly.

This revamped curriculum also emphasizes reading as a culture and prime to the education sector, where teachers have a huge role to play. However, their salaries still remain a concern. What do you think should be done to motivate the teachers?

There are several ways of motivating people. However, I think when you listen to complaints from staff, they complain about salaries and I tend to agree. But, this is not only for teachers. However, the Government has so many priorities and we have an envelope that we cannot exceed, the moment you exceed it, you cause problems in the economy. And, of course, every time when the economy allows, the Government always endeavours to improve salaries of employees. It takes a while to have salaries increased significantly.

Before reaching there, there are some forms of incentives that teachers can use and access soft loans without insisting on some requirements. For example, teachers can use the Umwalimu SACCO to set up some small medium enterprises and the income from the small businesses can improve their lives. There are several schemes like one cow per family, which we have been encouraging. With such kinds of initiatives, some teachers will be able to access some type of relief, but we are still exploring other non-monetary incentives.

Experts say if local researchers based their studies on local problems, a lot of development would be enhanced. What is your take on this kind of conclusion?

There some few cases most especially those studying abroad have capacity to publish in internationally renowned publishing houses, but sometimes it has no relevance in the Rwandan context. In the era of indigenous knowledge which we want to promote, I think there are green fields in Rwanda which have not been patronized enough in terms of research and publications. So, we encourage our lecturers at university level that even though they are partnering with other institutions abroad, they should focus on relevance to develop our economy. That is the only way we can promote indigenous knowledge.

You see for a long time, in Rwanda like any other developing country, absolute consumers are consumers of knowledge created elsewhere. It is now high time we used the knowledge we create in our situation. In fact, there are so many successful economic models that were tested here; why do we wait for scholars to come and do this, for example in Girinka, Abunzi, land consolidation and development programmes. From where I have been, there are policies and incentives in place for those who are doing research. Where I have been, it is a must to research, those who do not research perish.

There is a problem of school drop-outs, how are you planning to iron it out?

We need to look into it. All we know is the Government has achieved very high rates in terms of net enrolment, but then there is a problem with progression. A poor progression leads to a drop out; we shall work with the local government that goes up to the cell level. We need to find out how many are dropping out, where they are going and what they are doing.

Once we work with several partners like the parents teachers associations, we shall reach their cells to find out. Maybe it is not that rampant.

Government students in higher institutions also continue to complain about their allowances being insufficient and delaying. What’s your take?

I think this complaint is very genuine. This amount should be available in time with the new scheme where we are going to involve the banking system, money should be got in time. It is going to cut down the bureaucracy that has been involved in getting this money.

It is a government target to have 60% of students join the TVET sector by the year 2017. Are you optimistic that this will yield positive results?

This is a very good move because when you make a quick scan through our investments, it is like we have been passing out white-collar job seekers. In the middle level jobs, where you need a lot of technicians, we are lacking, hence rely on imported labour. The 40% can be the managers and academicians; we need more technicians. For example, for every engineer, you need about 10 technicians, and for every doctor, you need a number of nurses.

Also, people in TVET can create their own jobs and employ others; it is quite easier for them than those who are coming with the outlay of the university system. Putting more in TVET will contribute to a bigger vision.

With plans still ongoing to switch from one laptop per child to one identity per child under smart classrooms, the projects are moving at a slow pace. How long do you think Rwandans should wait?

The project of one laptop per child cannot work alone. You see the education sector is working in collaboration with other sectors. There are other ministries involved and are in charge of putting in place infrastructure like water, roads to the schools and electricity. For example, the rate of connection of electricity in schools is low compared to the industries and factories because these are the priorities for these ministries, but eventually we shall get there.

Lastly, what is your message to the stakeholders who will be working with you?

The message is very simple and I am not the first one making it; this is the message of the government; the education sector is an anchor for the economic development we want to achieve. If you look at the Vision 2020 of a knowledge-based economy, contribution of the human resources becomes important, and to reach there, we need to look at every actor, including the population at large. If we have the same vision and the same understanding, we can capitalize on Rwandans themselves through education. We need to drive this point home, not forgetting the private sector that bridges the gap between the academia and the business world.