Education 2015: Stakeholders list priorities, expectations

As 2014 comes to an end, everyone agrees that a lot has been achieved in the education sector. The Government, for instance, launched the school feeding programme, continued to review the curriculum with the aim of enriching it, and announced plans to modify the Kinyarwanda language. The Ministry of Education also revisited the student loan scheme to help students from poor families also access university education. However, there is still some work to do as highlighted by a section of the public. Pontian Kabeera sampled their views. MUNAH MARIZA SYLVIA MUTESI MUNAH MARIZA, Teacher Besides improving the quality of education, the Government should also give priority to the welfare of teachers by revising their salaries come 2015. Since teachers are the source of knowledge, they will do their work better when motivated. SYLVIA MUTESI, Parent More efforts should be put in Vocational institutes because they are by far more useful than many of these expensive schools that only offer theory to our children. Vocational institutes should be well equipped and given the same facilitation as universities. I went to Mushumba Mwiza and I studied hair dressing but I have managed to start my own saloon and take care of my family as well as paying school fees for my siblings. Fred Kalisa. Lucky Jennifer Fred Kalisa More emphasis needs to be put on practical education. During this year’s final examinations, I saw students who feared to touch or use laboratory apparatus because they were used to too much theory. I appeal to the Government to avail all the necessary materials for science students to help them get familiar with them in order to avoid examination fever. Lucky Jennifer Extra attention must be put on vocational institutes because that is the only solution to unemployment. People underestimate these courses but people who studied them have always influenced society positively and have helped to even create more employment opportunities for other people. Vumi Kacheche Rose Kanyange. Vumi Kacheche The type of education plays a key role in human capital development and subsequently to the economic development of a country. In my opinion, vocational education outweighs the other types. The other types of education prepare students to look for jobs as opposed to job creation. The country needs more vocational institutes which provide hands-on skills to meet the market needs. Rose Kanyange Entrepreneurship development should be given priority next year. Teaching entrepreneurship is one thing and applying it is another. I want to see students of entreprenuership being given practical skills that they can apply in the field. This should be a priority in every school in Rwanda. Sebastian Kalambizi Martin Ssenkayi Sebastian Kalambizi, Senior six vacist I think more emphasis should be put on vocational institutions and technical schools because they are practical and they create employment opportunities. I intend to look for a technical institute to study mechanical engneering and later start my garage. I’m sure that path will work for me. Martin Ssenkayi There should be further reforms in the curriculum in order to fit the current societal demands. Practical skills should be emphasized right from childhood given the direction the job market is taking. I’m sure more students will enjoy school while at the same time becoming more relevant to society. Joseph Njuguna Faith Kamikazi Joseph Njuguna. Director School of Journalism and Communication University of Rwanda. More efforts should be put in vocational education to cater for students who can’t make it to the university. These vocatitonal institutes should be well equipped so that students grasp what they are studying well. They can eventually create their own jobs. Faith Kamikazi I think focus should be on the language of instruction. Most teachers use Kinyarwanda while teaching in class yet exams are set in English which gives learners a hard time in understanding the concepts. Therefore, the Government needs to invest more in training teachers to improve their command of English so that they motivate their students. Pamela Connell Irene Nsengiyunva Pamela Connell, Deputy Principal Riviera High School I think the emphasis should be put on the curriculum review and the philosophical approach to addressing the future job markets and open channels of communication to listen to and engage with the private sector concerns and contributions. Expectations for the coming year would be a much higher consultative engagement with head teachers to strategize the best approach in teacher training to roll out the new curriculum. Irene Nsengiyunva More emphasis should be put on the quality of education at all levels and regardless of whether they are sciences or arts because the course is needed and can impact society positively. They can achieve this by giving teachers more training. Firdaus Linda Firdaus Linda More emphasis should be put on ICT because everything today rotates around technology. It’s true that Rwanda has invested a lot in ICT but still a lot more needs to be done. For instance in the recently concluded final exams, I saw a number of students who could not even start a computer. This worried me so much.