KIGALI - Rwanda is among the three countries that will benefit from the US $ 180 million from The Education for All - Fast Track Initiative (EFA FTI), a global partnership dedicated to ensuring that all children receive quality basic education. Other countries are Mozambique, and Papua New Guinea.

A statement from the World Bank’s office, says the three-year grant of $70 million (about Rwf41.6 billion) which has been allocated to Rwanda will help implement the government’s vision of ensuring that every child is guaranteed nine years of quality education by 2015, including three years of lower secondary education.

The money will help put one million out-of-school children back into classrooms, enhance learning quality and enable pupils to complete a full cycle of basic education.
Rwanda has made tremendous progress in its education sector with primary school enrolment increased by 4 percent per annum and average school completion rates rose to 75% in 2008 up from 53% in 2000.

"FTI support has empowered us immensely. No Rwandan children of school going age are now left behind, and out of school,” Sharon Haba, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education said in the statement.

Haba said that the new FTI funding will allow the government to maintain a ratio of at least one teacher to 47 pupils down from 63 pupils so that all children receive quality education.

"Yes, we had the political will to do this -- but we did not have the money. Today, Rwanda has one qualified teacher to 63 children,” she added.

Rwanda is currently focused on reducing drop-out and repetition rates, particularly for girls. The Government wants to improve the quality of learning by training and hiring more teachers, providing new materials, strengthening education in science and technology as well as improving school management systems.

The three-year FTI grant will also be used to raise the overall quality of education by financing teacher training, HIV/AIDS prevention and decentralised school management and supervision.

The EFA FTI is a global partnership of donor and developing countries, multilateral institutions and civil society organisations, dedicated to ensuring that all children receive quality basic education.

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