Education sector to benefit from Rwf 9B UK funding

The UK government is set to inject Rwf9 billion to fund various projects in the education sector in the country.This was announced yesterday by Mike Hammond, the Head of Department for International Development (DfID) in Rwanda, at the launch of the Innovation for Education programme at the Ministry of Education headquarters.The project will be implemented by Mott MacDonald Ltd as the fund manager, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.“We believe the programme is an opportunity to track the best in as far as innovativeness and creativity is concerned in the education sector of this country,” said Hammond.He added that the UK government was committed to supporting Rwanda’s quest to become a regional hub for innovations by funding projects, mainly in the private sector.The Minister of education, Dr Vincent Biruta, who officially launched the programme, said the project will play a significant role in improving the quality of education in the country.According to Biruta, currently, 95 percent of Rwandans have access to primary education.“Rwanda is the first African country with which DFID has had this kind of partnership, and I see this as further international recognition of Rwanda’s ability to embrace new ideas and make use of them,” Biruta said.Phocas Ngendahayo, who represented the Rwanda Education Network Coordination Platform, said the project will boost the civil society and private sector efforts towards improving the quality of education.Hammond noted that DFID will provide funds ranging from £50,000 to £800,000 to each shortlisted project.The projects will focus on six thematic areas that include; accountability and empowerment, inclusive education, climate change and environment, effective teaching and learning, skills development and use of appropriate technologies in education.The call for brief expressions of interest begun yesterday and the deadline is September19.

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Education sector to benefit from Rwf 9B UK funding