Education is the sure way to success. Education is light. Education changes lives for the better. Education eases business. And so on and so forth.

It is remarkably notable how Rwanda’s education system has greatly improved over the last decade and a half after the horrible genocide of 1994 that claimed innocent lives to the tune of a million plus.

With the killing of intellectuals, teachers, students, destruction of school infrastructure who would imagine our education would resurrect again? Except for believers in miracles! But an ordinary man would never convince themselves of a sound education system in Rwanda in a few decades after that historical holocaust that has challenged history of our land and beyond.

Those who were in the country at the beginning of ‘life’ after 1994, looking at the shattered school infrastructure, lack of competent and qualified teachers to attend to their children, could not imagine the education their children were going to receive. But realists, history knows that rebuilding a nation is not a thing done overnight. It is a gradual undertaking altogether. Soon  life begun to pick up, schools were rehabilitated and others renovated, teachers from the region and beyond were allowed to compete for teaching jobs on similar terms to the Rwandans. A number of Ugandans and Kenyans were in the country along these lines and more.

The divisive curriculum was revised to suit to the context of freedom for all, unity and reconciliation, equality of all Rwandan children irrespective of where they come from, sex or otherwise which was very different from the education in the country before the genocide.

Remarkable new achievements in education that are visible to the blind eye have been registered;

Universal nine years of free education (9YBE) which includes six years of primary education and three years of ordinary level education (lower secondary). This implies that Rwanda has surpassed the second millennium development goal of achieving universal primary education.

Beginning with this year, 2012, the Ministry of Education has commissioned the 12 years of basic education (12YBE) which will give opportunities to all children to attain basic education up to grade 12 or senior six (advanced level). This is indeed an advanced level as in some countries, graduates of senior six qualify to contest for any political post for they are considered to be educated enough to make sound decisions that can be developmental and constructive. Technical and vocational education training is taking root across the country with many students enrolling to attain technical knowledge that can earn them a living sooner than later.

 Talk of the switch to the use of the English language as the medium of instruction across the education system. This is a recommendable move towards achieving of quality education as the English language is by and large considered the global language of business. This means that graduates from the current education system will be able to compete on the world job market without challenges of language barrier. It also means that they can easily auger well with the rest of the populace in the common wealth nations, east African community countries, America, and the bigger part of the rest of the world.

Each year, over twenty five universities in the country graduate students in different disciplines and this predicts well for the future of our country- a learned society and population, high productivity rates, less conflicts. Unless one is insane, they would not participate in senseless wars and discrimination of fellow man of whatever background. Education is good, I should publicly admit for it enlightens and allows us to denounce our prejudices of race, colour, tribe, and sex to mention but a few. Kudos goes to the government that has been in power since July 4th 1994. Kudos also goes for all those that have immensely or in any manner contributed to the attainment of a fast moving education system towards quality and excellence. They say what you want to see in the nation tomorrow, put it in schools today. There we go, what do we want for our motherland tomorrow and tomorrow after? Peace, development and prosperity! Then let’s be part of the campaign in sowing seeds of good hope in our schools and genera
l education system. Support the education and be in the vanguard to attain and sustain education quality in the land.

Paul Bagambe
The writer is an educationist