The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education Dr Celestin Ntivuguruzwa has lauded Rulindo-based college of technology for refurbishing used computers to distribute to needy secondary schools.

He was speaking during the hand over of refurbished computers and devices to needy schools, last week, at Tumba College of Technology (TCC) in Rulindo.

Over 230 computers were refurbished and distributed to five needy schools selected by Rwanda Education Board.

Since 2012 over 600 computers have been refurbished and distributed to schools.

Ntivuguruzwa said while more efforts have been put in developing infrastructure and promoting access to education, there is need to promote quality and relevance of education.

With the new revised curriculum which is starting this academic year, he said, there is more need to boost the quality of education through ICT use.

He said refurbishment should come in handy as the ministry has budgetary constraints to buy new computers for all schools.

"We are grateful that more people will use computers, we need more computers and we can’t get them at once, the initiative by Tumba College to refurbish computers is a great milestone to help promote ICT while protecting the environment by absorbing e-waste,” he said.

Ntivuguruzwa promised the Ministry of Education’s commitment to working with other institutions to ensure that used computers which are lying idle in offices are availed, refurbished and used by schools.

"We are happy that we have got computers, we emphasise on ICT use but we can’t teach students without computers,” he said.

He urged beneficiary schools to put them into good use and ensure that students acquire ICT skills and carry out research to increase their knowledge in various domains.

"Having computers is one thing and using them is another, you need to ensure that computers are well maintained and used properly,” he said.

According to the Permanent Secretary, the ministry is planning to take digital content to schools.

Beneficiary schools said they faced a challenge of teaching computer lessons only in theory.

You cannot teach about a computer without it, the computers we got will help us teach ICT well as students practice unlike before when we had few computers,” said Ann Macharia, the headteacher of Inyange Girls School in Rulindo.

Maschack Kagali, head of GS Gishanda in Kayonza District, Eastern Province, appreciated that her school was chosen among the recipients.

"My school had only two computers which were used in offices and students have been learning theories only, now that we have been given computers, I am optimistic this will boost ICT and research as we will do our best to connect them to the internet,” said Kagali.

According to engineer Pascal Gatabazi, TCC principal, the refurbishment initiative is in response to the current need for ICT tools and giving back to the community.

He said 80 per cent of computers which are collected from various institutions in the country are refurbished and still have a warrant to operate properly for a long time.

He added that the College staff will keep working with institutions to ensure more unused computers are refurbished and distributed to needy schools.

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