For the most part, students who complete their secondary level of education dream of studying abroad. However, even though the goal is shared by many, one aspect remains clear — international standardised tests — an obstacle.

Global standardised testing is explained as a form of analysis that is created, administered, and scored in the same way for all students across the world in order to obtain an objective picture of the student, and their performance.

This type of testing has become increasingly common in schools since the enactment of ‘No Child Left Behind’ in the early 2000s, which required schools to set exams in order to admit any type of student in a uniform format.

However, given that schools, learning facilities and tutoring centres are currently halted due to the coronavirus pandemic, it is clear that a big number of local students have been forced to stay helpless, while they can’t get guidance on how to achieve their dream.

This, experts believe, may hurt the number of international students who seek their education abroad.

Amidst the emerging fears, however, Enoch Niyonkuru, a Rwandan high school graduate, created a website with which students can interact with a qualified tutor, share ideas and practise for their tests while they wait for schools to reopen.

"I realised that during this period (Covid-19 crisis), high school students, pre-university students, and current university students have more time at their hands.  And considering that thousands of youth in our country can access WhatsApp and smartphones, we decided to offer high school courses (sciences and humanities), international test preps (including SATs, TOEFL among others), language courses, and other professional ones in order to make the best use of this time,” Niyonkuru says.

He adds that due to the fact that many students are required to take a gap year upon completing their secondary level of education, "I saw it as an opportunity to turn this prolonged holiday into a productive time for the students who are interested in taking the tests.”

According to Niyonkuru, the initiative will also benefit students who are in their final year of secondary education.

This, the 21 year old points out, will "enable them to apply to colleges abroad in their last year of high school without necessarily taking a gap year.”

Furthermore, "This programme serves recent high school graduates who had good scores in their national examination, to prepare them to compete on an international level. Being one of those students who want to compete on an international platform, I was motivated to prepare those bright scholars to compete on the international level.”

What makes the initiative unique?

As opposed to the other tutoring platforms, Niyonkuru highlights that the initiative offers free mentorship to students.

"We help students who join us in their preparations for university applications, essay writing and career guidance.”

Additionally, "Our tutors have successfully completed those standardised tests on high scores and won scholarships in numerous top universities in the world. But also, while tutoring, we not only focus on tests, since we are also interested in raising the English level of a scholar for them to apply it to their daily lives.”

For instance, Niyonkuru says, our team is currently made up of eight people all from different walks of life.

The former College Saint Andre (CSA) student leader observes, "I believe that time lost will never come back, and since this is the crisis no one planned for, time is being lost.” 

Therefore, "Taking additional courses, is one of the things that can set one apart from others at the end of this pandemic. And considering that many students are at home spending a long time on social media, we are simply providing an alternative for students to invest in courses that will benefit them more,” he says.

How does that the project work?

Niyonkuru says that students can register on (www.kigalitutoringcenter.com), and once enrolled, they are connected to a personal tutor who facilitates them throughout the course.

For improved efficiency, "We use the easiest means of communication for a tutor and a student to be able to communicate.”

Going forward, Niyonkuru says, "I plan to increase the capacity of my website from the current 500 students to a bigger number.”