What Rwanda needs to improve science education

Human resource development through science education can only be developed from the grass root level. Quality of professionals in scientific courses such as medicine, Pharmacy and engineering that require high level of scientific knowledge necessitates concrete and highly developed background. This is why if the government of Rwanda is to look for high quality of health professionals such as doctors, it should highly equip secondary schools with all laboratory materials required for the best learning of children. A secondary school students needs to have basic fundamental knowledge in Biology and chemistry subjects to facilitate him undertake a medical course or other applied science courses at high institutions of learning. Therefore, the ministry of education should look at empowering and improving on the quality of the science pupils at secondary school level before they can seek measures of improving quality at the level of high institutions. Current problems that have been noticed in some areas of strategic development of the country such as health, not only originate from high institutions of learning in the country but should strongly be linked to poor or lack of concrete foundation in the education system of some profession. The health sector has been a key indicator where problems of inadequate and inexperienced professionals have been noticed. With this regard, people should not hasten to condemn the ministry of health or the medical school at the national university of Rwanda. People should turn their minds on the standards and performance of secondary schools that these professionals have passed through. Not forgetting that brain drain has been exisisting in Africa for many years where best professionals have left their native states to look for green pastures in overseas countries. Early this year, the ministry of education in cooperation with the national university of Rwanda formed a joint task force to study and investigate the increasing problem of few and inexperienced health workers. One of the preliminary and proposed plans of this task force is to introduce a 7th year at the medical school in the near future. The seventh year is meant to prolong the clinic clerkships of students completing their bachelor’s degree at the faculty of medicine in Butare. However, the idea of introducing the seventh-year at the medical school will not serve the purpose. First of all, if the ministry of education is to improve the clinical practice of medical students, it should not start at the end of the course, and should rather focus on students who are beginning the course or yet to join the medical school. Thus, the plan to introduce the seventh year at the medical school would ditch government in wastage of the little resources without immediate or long term impact. May be medical education implementers can think of introduction a clinic practice in the pre-clinic years of the medical course and reduce a huge theory workload involved at the start of the course. However, all this requires competency and exposure to laboratory practice at the secondary school level. Recently, the government of Rwanda increased salaries of health workers to reduce on the problem of brain drain and now quality should be sought on a long term basis. Today the government of Rwanda seeks to promote poverty reduction by strengthening human resources All this involves implementing basic science education program and strengthening science education at primary and secondary school level. At high institutions of learning, people should not only look at the problem of students under taking courses but also their lecturers. The medical courses require highly trained and skilled professionals in order to guide a student for the preparation of his future clinical practice. Here, the ministry of education should also put sights on recruitment of highly skilled health professionals who can train and turn things from the worst to best. In medical practice, not all specialists in a particular medical field can be fit enough to teach medical students. Some of them lack competence and natural talent to deliver the required and standardized content. Qualification and experience differs in various aspects. We can thus conclude that a number of activities such as strengthening the quality and the relevance of science education are vital tools to success. This can be done by; revising and adapting study programs and acquisitions of school textbooks, improving the physical and pedagogical environment through establishment of science corners in primary schools, promoting science clubs in secondary schools, training teachers in Biology, chemistry, physics , math’s and others. Ends