Urbi et orbi…

It is interesting how life is holistic. Things and people are often very interrelated and interconnected through time and space. It is rare for something to truly happen ‘out of the blue’. For every situation, there is a cause and effect…actions, consequences and repercussions. Two related events, in the last fortnight, brought this to the fore. While meeting a potential client, the topic of students’ capacity or rather lack of it to effectively perform in their roles came up.Specifically, the feedback was that our hospitality students cannot communicate effectively in English and cannot welcome and serve customers effectively. At another high level meeting to discuss the customer service problem, pretty much the same issues came up, albeit with more polished words. Sad and dire as the situation seems, it is not unusual and it is not without a solution.Rwanda, in so many ways, is a society in transition and transformation, and rapidly so. All transitions come with challenges; Transformations pose even bigger teething problems. For a long time, the Rwandan society has largely been monolingual (no shame in that, so are the Americans!). The post-genocide scenario brought with it conditions that, to put it politely, made this situation untenable. Rwanda became more open and engaging with the world. The introduction of English as an official language was the natural way to go. Frankly, it would have introduced itself. It is the worlds language of business and the lingua franca. As Nyerere once told Tanzanians, English is the Kiswahili of the world! I have met Congolese businessmen and professionals and they all endeavour to speak English. But as we all know, Rome was not built in a day, hence the current problem. There is a study commissioned to establish the causes of the customer service issue. I reckon that in their findings, they will show that language skills is one of the contributing factors to the problem. If you can’t speak a language, it is a tall order to expect to do business in the same. The resultant inhibitions from this go beyond just the speaking. It makes one lack confidence in doing their work, hence poor service. I reckon this is what happens to our students. The question then begs; are we going about solving the language issue the right way? The results so far say otherwise. In universities, there is a language class every semester for about two thirds of the student’s life therein. But how often do they speak in the language they have learnt? How practical and fun are these classes? Do the learners fully understand the motive of these classes? Do they fully participate? Do employers sponsor language as one of the on the job trainings? Do they monitor and evaluate progress. So many related questions need answers. Perhaps one approach is to have language tests before entry to universities. One year’s language course before students go into their disciplines would be useful. This may sound like a draconian and time wasting move but is in not a greater evil teaching a student in a language they have not mastered? Is it not a travesty? One unfortunate thing I have noticed during such discussions, especially in the private sector, is the low level of ownership of the problem. We seem to think that it is the neighbour’s problem.Even if it were, we know that when our neighbour’s fence is on fire, it becomes our problem. A lot of thinking has to be put into the language-communication-customer service problem. Each of us has a role but those roles need to be clearly defined and undertaken. Just like the Pope’s urbi et orbi (to the city and the world) address on important Catholic occasions, we have to be of useful service to our country, but also to the world, and excellently so!Sam Kebongo teaches entrepreneurship at Rwanda Tourism University College. He also is a Director at Serian Ltd that provides skills and business advisory services consultancy.