Presidential candidates’ focus on education excites voters

At least each of the four 2010 presidential candidates has expressed concern for improvement of education in Rwanda, a thing that has excited many people. The candidates have promised to among others; offer free education, improve the quality of education and teacher’s salaries. This is what every single Rwandan would wish for the country that eyes its human resource for development. The concern for the education sector however, must be accompanied by improvement of certain other areas, which actually brings in the difference. Leaving other factors constant, the population, young and old have reasons to smile, because of the focused pledges made by the candidates. Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) RPF Presidential candidate has been in no doubt at the vanguard of the recently introduced 9 years basic education. For those parents whose children had no opportunity to obtain the basic education,due to lack of finances in their youthful days, the free 9 years basic education policy introduced by president Paul Kagame has been a big relief.It is absolutely true that not even age can deter children from maximizing such opportunity to enroll in any public school nearest to them. With the high zeal in acquiring basic education, they can now look at the future with hope that there is no height they would not scale in life if they vigorously pursue their education. This is because the government of Rwanda led by the RPF presidential candidate has recognized that education is the bedrock of development politically and economically and has provided Rwandans an opportunity which they need not toy with. This is seen by Rwandans as a panacea for all those in the past, who could not go to school because their parents were poor, and ensures that the same fate does not befall their children. It is against this background that when Kagame pledge to provide free education from Primary one to senior six, is taken seriously by Rwandans. Raul Mugabo, 55, a parent of five, said that the recent promise by the incumbent president that he will push free education, from 9 years basic education to senior six, has excited many parents across the country. Mugabo, a retired soldier noted that if there is something that troubles the parents, is paying school fees. “Now I can assure all Rwandans that we are set for a fundamental change, where parents will no longer be bothered by school fees. It is time to concentrate on agriculture and trade.” “Paul Kagame has fulfilled all his pledges and I can assure people that the recent pledge too, is about to happen. His words are followed by action, I am thus extremely confident that my 5 children will be able to access high school education that I would otherwise fail to pay for,” he noted. It is incredibly true that rural needy parents will tell you that with Kagame’s massive campaign on the free education policy being carried out by the government, parents no longer give out their children to serve in towns as house helps. “Today the story is changing where people used to come to the rural needy to look for house helps. We have begun to lay the foundation .We started with 9 years free education. We are eyeing full free high school education in the near future with Kagame,” said Yohana Karikunzira, 60, a resident of Gatsibo district. This is a landmark change that was ushered in by the incumbent president, hence earning him great respect among the people of Rwanda. The fact that President Paul Kagame managed to introduce 9 years basic education, just in one year, makes his new pledge realistic. It would only demand for example, improving and increasing the existing infrastructure and mobilizing resource to add three more years. Party for Progress and Concord (PPC) The presidential candidate of PPC Alvera Mukabaramba has promised the electorate free education right from Kindergarten to senior six, once elected as the country’s president. She in addition promised to provide the baby schools with qualified teachers, to help Rwandan children develop education fundamentals. Although this has been seen by critics as too ambitious and unrealistic, it holds some water, particularly her concern for Kindergartens. Kindergartens are so expensive and some of them are virtually owned by incompetent private associations or individuals. There are practically no public nursery schools, hence allowing private owners to exploit parents by hiking school fees, and other needs as they wish. It is also vital to note that teaching in nursery, is taken for granted in most of our schools at this level, where non-qualified teachers do the work with minimum or no supervision especially in the rural areas. PPC concern for the nursery schools thus gives the parents affected in that way, hope for the better. Liberal Party (PL) The Liberal Party candidate Prosper Higiro has touched on the necessity to improve vocational schools in Rwanda once he gets the key to the highest office in the land. This is an important concern for our country that cannot be overemphasized. The economies the world over are changing into knowledge based economies. The changing face of technology the world over requires an individual to be specialized in a particular skill. Only a person who is an expert in a particular field can get a good job. Vocational education training institutes impart specialized and practical knowledge to a person and help them become independent at a particular age. In fact, we need vocational institutes where the residents of the country can earn certificates, diplomas and degrees and become part of a specialized workforce. Days are gone when we used to send our children to school to recite names of former Kings and Kingdoms, mastered former colonial boundaries, crammed the science of discoveries of Newton and Archimedes, etc. We can no longer afford a situation where our scientists who graduate with distinctions, for instance, cannot afford even to repair of a bicycle tyre. Joseph Mutabingwa, 37, a resident of Rwamagana says that vocational schools end the hopelessness of job seekers, since graduates are able to create the jobs. “I would be happy to see my child able to connect wires to produce light or start a motor engine, instead of seeing his high marks in clinical psychology,” he remarked. Social Democratic Party (PSD) The PSD presidential candidate Jean Damascene Ntawukuriryayo could have deliberately avoided mentioning free education, but dwells on the need to improve teachers’ salaries as an important motivation in the whole educational process. This again is an important observation, for you can not only mention of enrolment without considering teacher’s motivation. Teachers’ motivation however, shouldn’t be only based on the salaries since experience has proved it unpractical. Teachers should be given for instance, free houses and have their children educated for free up to the highest level possible. Such a situation would have a practical solution to the difficulties of many teachers in the country. However, such concern could be implied in PSD presidential candidate’s concern, and there is no doubt that teachers are happy with it. The winner takes it all The electorate’s concerns of course go beyond education to other areas that relate to their daily lives, as they choose a particular candidate for the presidency. At the end of the day, there will be a winner to take charge of the country that will take the responsibility to implement the pledges. It is the implementation part that actually, makes the difference Anyhow, it is inevitable that the winner will take it all…pick the threads and come up with a formidable educational approach that will best suit the country. Ends