In a  bid  to use the English language effectively and efficiently in the public service, 160 civil servants completed a five-month training course in English that was conducted by the British Council.

The officials, who were drawn from various institutions of the central government in the three districts of Kigali City, were awarded certificates at the end of the course.

Speaking at the event which took place at the British Council Rwanda premises, Michael Bibby British Council Manager of Programmes in Rwanda and DRC, said they signed an agreement with Rwanda Institute of Administration and Management (RIAM) to teach the language.

"We want to continue supporting the government of Rwanda in the English language teaching programme in the public service,” he said.

He added that in December this year the head of the British Council is coming to Rwanda for a round table meeting on the role of English in the development of Rwanda.

Deogratias  Harorimana, the Director General of RIAM, pointed out that English language training in the public service is an important step taken after Rwanda joined the Commonwealth and the East African Community (EAC) blocs.

"This is demonstrated by the strong commitment of the government towards the transition from French to English speaking in the public administration,” he noted.

He revealed that they had  targetted to train 15,000 public servants in English language within three years.

"Our aim is to make sure that the public civil servants master English language so that they can be able to report and communicate in English effectively,” the RIAM Boss stressed.

According to Immaculee Nyirinkwaya, one of the civil servants who completed English language lessons, the training has equipped her with the best English language speaking essentials and now she can be able to follow meetings in English and participate in discussions.

Apart from teaching English, the British Council will also train over 100 trainers who, in turn, will train others to ensure sustainability of English language training in the public service.

The Ministry of Public Service and Labour launched the "National English Language Training Programme (NELT)” to teach English to public servants and the training is administered by the British Council through the Public Sector Capacity Development Secretariat.

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