A new research to focus on improving teacher involvement in peace building within post conflict areas around the globe was launched yesterday.

The research dubbed "Engaging Teachers in Peace building in post conflict Rwanda and South Africa” will focus on identifying hiccups that teachers face when implementing interventions for peace.

During an inception meeting in Remera, Kigali yesterday, Professor Eugene Ndabaga, the lead researcher from the University of Rwanda said the study will be carried out in five countries.

"We chose, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, Myanmar and Pakistan. The countries were grouped in pairs basing on the similarities but the findings will generate interventions that will be used allover the world,” Prof. Ndabaga said.

Professor Ndabaga added that Rwanda was paired with South Africa to facilitate purposeful sampling since the two countries share a lot in common.

"At some point, South Africa was involved in apartheid while Rwanda experienced a much worse Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994,” he added.

Beside the university of Rwanda, the meeting attracted officials from the Cape Penisula University of Technology in South Africa, the University of Sussex and University of Bristol in the UK.

Professor Yusuf Sayed, the international coordinator of the project and researcher at Cape Peninsular University in South Africa said that the research would generate useful policies to solve conflicts peacefully in many countries.

"The overall target is to foster non-violence through component building and generate recommended dialogues globally. Rwanda’s history is unique but the country has reconciled through non-violence and this is something people can learn from,” he added.

Sayed also added that the research would tackle issues of teacher motivation as a way of improving their work."Teacher motivation is very important, in enhancing service delivery. These are the conditions that can only be supported after studies,” he added.

Feeding into the new curriculum

The recently rolled out competence based curricular has among the new areas genocide studies, conflict resolution and peace building.

Dr Marie Christine Gasingirwa, the director general of science, technology and research at the ministry of education pointed out that such research is important to regularly update the curriculum content.

"The curriculum is not static and before we make an adjustments, there is need to identify the problems. Solving such educational challenges is like dealing with diseases, where you need accurate diagnosis for a perfect cure,” Dr Gasingirwa said.

She added that content in textbooks usually dwells on research for future updating.

"Through consistent evaluation, we can always improve our books. This content is a good start to further boost engagement with our local publishers,” she added.

Damien Ntaganzwa, the deputy director general in charge of teacher development and management at Rwanda Education Board pointed out that since teachers are the agents of learning they need continuous training in peace-building studies.

"As we deliver education in the post conflict era, it is without a doubt that teachers once trained adequately can deliver the topics effectively. Teachers are perennial learners who need continuous professional development regularly to enhance their competences,” he said.

The research will be embedded in UNICEF’s peace building, Education and Advocacy programme.

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