Monday, September 7 was the first day of school for many international students in Rwanda, but the new school year was very different. Students resumed learning on virtual platforms, as Covid-19 continues to grip the country, just like the rest of the world. Despite failure to have in-person classes however, school heads, parents and their students have welcomed the new academic year. The New Times spoke to Lisa Umulisa, the director of Dove International, who said this was a welcome development, saying that her school has utilized the three-month break to build the necessary infrastructure “Students are happy to be back on the basis of studying with their colleagues. And this makes us happy too.” According to Umulisa, when the coronavirus pandemic hit the country earlier this year, most institutions including international schools were not ready to shift online. But, she says, her school has now established a new learning platform that has proven to be student-friendly. “Digital learning comes with a lot of challenges. Especially for us dealing with young children. They need more developmental skills, movement is key….among others”, she says. “During the emergency period, (mid-March), it was a challenge for us. Most platforms available at the time were not favorable for students and this affected the studying process”. Today, Umulisa points out, they have rolled out a platform called See-Saw. “The platform is synchronized with a student profile and an invigilator who will supervise the student’s work on a daily basis”. The records, she adds, are compiled every two weeks and sent to a parent via email, for the parent to evaluate how their child is faring. She however emphasized that, “The platform will not be perfect. But schools should work towards making it a better experience for the students”. Schools and other large gatherings were in March put on a halt to further curb the spread of coronavirus. In response, different schools announced that they were shifting to digital learning models in order to keep students in the rhythm of studying. Concerns have since emerged that the online learning model is not a viable yardstick especially for students with vulnerabilities as well as nursery students, mainly because of their digital literacy. Speaking to this publication, Evelyne Kayitesi, Sparrow Parents International school, observed that starting with this new academic year, nursery students are no longer going to be part of the vulnerable section. “As opposed to using laptops for online classes, we have made it more flexible for the young students by adopting the usage of WhatsApp videos,” she said. This, she said, comes after most parents express concerns in the previous remote learning strategy. Furthermore, she asserts, we have also made revised studying schedules for the primary section, “That means Grade1 to Grade 6, will henceforth begin their classes by as early as 8:30 in the morning, until 3:30 in the afternoon”. “Frankly, we are doing our best to ensure that students experience a better and well organized new academic year,” she said. Meanwhile, some international schools will start next week. According to Faustin Nikwigize, liaison officer at Riviera High School, school will begin next week on Monday, September 14. Nikwigize didn’t specify much about what caused the delay, but he said that the institution has established new platforms to further facilitate students as a result of the experience they got from last term. Part of the new measures, he explained include supervision, where a student will be supervised all along the course. “Previously, some students would be stubborn and focus on other things, hence missing on the course. But with the new video call app, there will be an invigilator supervising all students to make sure that they are all attentive” he said. Another thing, Nikwigize said, assessment on all individuals will be done on a weekly basis, “to know where and why the student is not performing well”. Most importantly, “We have also rolled out a new plan to conduct examinations and ensure that there is no malpractice”. “With the new platform, any student trying to cheat in exams will be detected and disqualified by the system” Nikwigize added.
