Teachers’ colleges to receive 100,000 text books

At least 100,000 text books will soon be distributed among the 13 Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs) around the country. The books have been donated by the International Book Bank (IBB), an American organisation dedicated to improving literacy worldwide, according to Jackie Lewis, the communications officer of the USAID-Literacy, Language, and Learning (L3) Initiative. Kigali Institute of Education (KIE) and L3 have received the books and are preparing for distribution. “KIE is committed to promoting reading at TTCs and nearby primary schools,” says Dr. Faustin Habineza, Head of Primary Education and Coordinator of TTCs at KIE. He added that the books will be an invaluable resource towards that end and will contribute to improving quality education in schools. The books include children’s storybooks, reference books for teachers, novels and nonfiction books for recreational reading. Officials say storybooks will be particularly useful to TTCs this year as they rollout a new curriculum, including a newly-developed course on language methods. With the new course, the use of stories in teaching children how to read is heavily emphasised; techniques for before, during, and after reading, including the use of props, actions, songs, and expressive reading voice, are all valued. “Storytelling can be used as an effective means to promote reading comprehension,” said Jean Pierre Mugiraneza, an assistant lecturer at KIE. With the new books, TTC tutors can model effective use of story in the classroom for TTC students, who will then practice this during their student-teaching at primary schools. Both TTC tutors and students will benefit from reference books, some of which focus on reading strategies. Additionally, novels and nonfiction books will provide them with materials for leisure reading. Mugiraneza added that students in TTCs have been having limited access to reading material, especially for recreational reading.