Over 20 schools rewarded for promoting girl-child education

The Ministry of Education, in partnership with Imbuto Foundation, UNICEF and other partners, yesterday rewarded 12 primary and 12 secondary schools for increasing efforts in promoting girl-child education. The schools were selected after a countrywide competition in which all schools participated. The exercise was held with the aim of motivating schools to improve the quality of education. The campaign is part of a five-year strategic plan that focuses on child–centred schools that encourage cross-gender achievement, retention and performance. Speaking at the reward giving ceremony, Dr Mathias Harebamungu, the State Minister in Charge of Primary and Secondary Education, said that these were recognized because of their hard work in improving ways of promoting girl-child education. “During the competition, we looked at quality education as defined by the Inspectorate of Education report. These include; quality environment, quality teachers, strong and stable parent and community environment, quality curriculum, and all the above elements are important for a good functional school,” explained the minister. He commended efforts by parents, saying that their support is very instrumental in improving the quality of education in the country. The ministry and its partners sunk a total of Rwf 192 million into the awards for the competitions which all the 24 schools shared. The Deputy Country Representative for UNICEF, Dr. Jane Muita, praised Rwanda for its efforts in promoting the girl-child through introducing an all-inclusive education system. “We are happy to be part of what is happening in Rwanda,” she said, adding that the child-friendly schools were a good facilitator to the development of the country. The schools received various sums of money depending on their performance. In an exclusive interview with The New Times, the headmistress of Groupe Scolaire De Bwenda, Leontina Kayitesi, said that she would use the prize money in upgrading her school and connecting it to the internet as well as equipping the school library with new books. Groupe Scolaire De Bwenda in Gakenke district won the first place in the tight competition and was awarded a cash prize of Rwf 9 million. Ends

National

Over 20 schools rewarded for promoting girl-child education