That the culture of reading and writing in Rwanda is almost non-existent is no news. For a while now, there has been occasional half-hearted effort at reversing the trend, often with little to no impact. This has partly been down to lack of a coordinated, holistic approach that allows for coherent and result-oriented interventions. Indeed, isolated improvisations have left different players frustrated and resources misallocated, while duplication has been noticed – ultimately undermining the overriding objective. Something needs to change. That’s why yesterday’s signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Rwanda Education Board and Rwanda Writers Federation is a milestone of sorts. It sets the stage for strategic partnership and dialogue between a public institution that is at the heart of the country’s education system and a professional association of experts whose skills can be impactful, if well tapped into. The framework will, among others, “promote the culture of reading and writing in schools, ensuring the quality of curriculum related and supplementary readers’ books for schools, and books editing processes,” REB said in a tweet posted shortly after the signing ceremony. Under the partnership, the two sides are expected to coordinate their interventions, regularly look at the big picture together and, where necessary, work towards achieving a joint action plan. It should also allow players to be more creative in their interventions through different initiatives such as reading and writing competitions in schools and mass mobilisation. It will allow REB to benefit from the insights and skills of the more than 100-member association, which should help address some of the gaps that have been identified in particularly curriculum domain. Furthermore, the partnership will also help better coordinate and leverage efforts of other stakeholders, such as development partners, with view to ensuring maximum impact. Importantly, the partnership should allow stakeholders to urgently look into pending issues such as coming up with the national book policy, which would provide clear guidelines and standards for local publishers. It is simply wrong not to have guidelines whatsoever for the local publishing industry. The significance of the new platform cannot be overemphasised, especially considering that Rwanda’s development blueprint envisions a knowledge-based economy. It would be difficult to achieve a knowledge-based economy in a society that hardly documents its own story, history, culture and experiences and does not read the experiences of others.
