The Governments of Rwanda and the United Kingdom, yesterday, signed a financing agreement worth £30.5m (about  Rwf34 billion) to support basic education programmes.

The four-year grant will be channeled through the Department for International Development (DFID) and is expected to boost Ministry of Education’s Learning-For-All programme.

The donation will also help to deliver on improved learning and more equitable access to primary and secondary education, Claver Gatete, the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, said during the signing ceremony.

The money will be received in phases over a period of four fiscal years, with £10.5 million earmarked for 2015/16; £8 million for 2016/17; £7 million for 2017/18; and £5 million for the fiscal year 2018/19.

"This grant comes to support Rwanda’s ambition of building a knowledge-based economy,” Gatete noted.

Grant Shapps, UK’s minister of State for International Development and Africa, said supporting   the education sector is key to Rwanda’s economic development.

"Through the Learning-For-All  programme, the UK will continue  supporting  the Government of Rwanda to achieve its vision of economic transformation and poverty reduction, particularly for women and girls,” Shapps said.

The UK government has been supporting Rwanda in education, agriculture, environment, social protection, the financial sector and land registration programme.