From ‘no to out-of-school’, we can guarantee quality too

It is not vain to smile and announce that our education has made a momentous stride, for even when we do so, we say it with the understanding that we cannot afford to rest on our laurels. Stakeholders in the education sector have been trying to go beyond their means to ensure the dream education is achieved for all the future generation. The result is resounding: the Rwanda we all cherish and give our all to is among the top three nations in the world making significant strides to curb out-of-school population rate. The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), in its annual report, released Wednesday, says at 96.5 per cent, Rwanda is one of African countries with the highest primary school enrollment rates. For a country whose socio-economic strata, including education, could as well be said to be just 20 years old following the ruins of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, reducing out-of-school population by 85 per cent is no mean feat. These successes are riding on the foundation of government initiatives such as the Nine- and 12-Year Basic Education programmes that ensure free education for all children from primary through secondary schooling. However, the Unesco report must not make us dance until the sun touches the other side of the mountain. We must fasten our seatbelts to ensure every effort counts toward giving the enrollment rate the perfect tonic – education quality. History shows that in many economies where universal education is on offer, quality is compromised. But the confidence note in Rwanda is that our leaders seem to have done their assignment. The spirited promotion of technical and vocational education and training in the country is a testimony that after climbing the rungs of the 12-Year-Basic Education, our future generation has a great chance to be molded into enviable citizens. The recent merger of public higher institutions of learning to form the University of Rwanda is also an ambitious quality-oriented project. If we can achieve this much stride in enrollment in so short a time, we surely can garnish our education to desired effect with concerted efforts.

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From ‘no to out-of-school’, we can guarantee quality too