British Council sets up permanent office

After years of operating a provisional office in Rwanda, United Kingdom’s organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities has established a permanent office in the country.The British Council was granted a directorate status in November 2011.It will be a platform for all areas of the British Council services in Rwanda, including a teaching centre and English language promotion.“For the past four years British Council’s presence in Rwanda has been temporary, but it has contributed a lot towards the development of English language as a medium of instruction,” said Dr Mathias Harebamungu, State Minister in charge of Primary and Secondary Education.The organisation has provided support in the areas of capacity building to the Ministry of Education, Rwanda Education Board and its departments, particularly during the implementation of adopting English as the language of instruction in schools.Benedict Llewellyn-Jones, the British High Commissioner to Rwanda, said the permanent office demonstrates strong friendly relations existing between Rwanda and the UK.“The directorate’s key point is to make plans and programmes on a long term basis regarding the expansion of British Council activities and the depth of its work,” he said.“The directorate basically cements the presence of the British council in Rwanda.”“The establishment of the Rwanda Directorate is a very bold step that will enhance the use English language across the country,” said Michael Bibby, British Council’s Country Director.“We are very excited about the fact that we can now plan for our work in Rwanda for many years to come, that we can be part of the remarkable development that Rwanda is seeing, and that we can ensure that teachers and learners have access to the best in education resource, and English language materials, from the UK.”Bibby noted that the British Council has a range of radio programmes aimed at supporting learners of English in an engaging, educational and fun way.

National

British Council sets up permanent office