The first group of 164 Zimbabwean teachers who arrived in Kigali on October 19 will be deployed to different schools on Saturday, October 22.

The arrival of Zimbabwean teachers follows an agreement reached between Rwanda and Zimbabwe that was initiated last year by President Paul Kagame during the inaugural Rwanda-Zimbabwe Trade and Investment Forum.

The group was received at the Kigali International Airport by officials from the Ministry of Education and headed to La Palisse Hotel, in Nyamata sector, Bugesera district in the outskirts of Kigali city.

According to the Ministry of Education, the group made the final cut, following a series of interviews and induction exercises.

Most interviews were conducted online to facilitate the supervision of Rwandan officials.

Charles Karakye, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education alongside Nelson Mbarushimana, Director General at Rwanda Basic Education Board led the delegation in the recruitment process.

At La Palisse Hotel, the teachers will go through intense training to ensure that the they have the right information for integration and protection during their service.

The arrangement

According to Charles Karakye, the educators have all been given a three-year contract that is subject to an annual evaluation every year.

"We are recruiting competent education personnel to be employed as mentors of our teaching staff. We expect a lot from them and they will be evaluated every year,” Karakye said.

He however declined to share details on the salary cap of the teachers, but disclosed the range is between Rwf600,000 and Rwf2 million.

Rwanda recently raised the teacher’s salary by 80 per cent.

When asked about the comparison between local teachers and the incoming expatriates, Karakye said that the government put into context what they have been earning in Zimbabwe.

Living conditions

Based on the contract, Karakye said, there is a certain amount of allowance that will be used for rent for a specific period.

However, he added, "After that period, they will have the liberty to rent a house of their choice depending on their social welfare and living conditions.”

There is a group of teachers, for instance, those who are set to be deployed at the University of Rwanda’s School of Medicine that will have access to the institution’s facilities.

The teachers will be deployed in four main categories including; basic education, basic TVET (technical and vocational education and training), polytechnic and universities.

What next?

Rwanda had initially targeted 500 teachers as part of the efforts to bridge longstanding skills gaps and language barriers.

Despite an economic meltdown in the past, experts say, Zimbabwe is still one of the countries with highly educated people in Africa.

The country has been pursuing deals with different countries to export the labor.

For Wellington Makonese, Director of W2 industries, a Zimbabwean firm that is expanding its business in Rwanda in areas of school infrastructure and setting up school laboratories, there is a need for standard infrastructure to realize the quality of education.

"As the Zimbabwe teachers start to settle we will see the demand of capacitation in the field of STEM arising, and we are willing to work with partners to bridge this gap, especially in the area of Laboratory manufacturing and Installation which is still lagging in Africa,” said Makonese.

He added that he started operations in Rwanda and that the firm has already donated a model laboratory prototype worth $120,000 (Rwf120 million) at the Kicukiro-based GS Secondary School, as part of the efforts to provide STEM support infrastructure in Rwanda and across Africa.