............Rwanda has met MDG education target, says Education ............minister Murigande   By George Kalisa Rwanda's new education minister Charles Murigande during his interview WAS Rwanda’s decision to adopt English as a medium of education made without precedence? Has the education sector made progress? Do Rwandans take pride in the sector 15 years down the road? The new education minister, Hon. Charles Murigande, divulged reasons for the launch of the nine-year basic education scheme, growth in enrollment, MDGs, and why education claims the largest share of the national budget.   Q: How far has Rwanda achieved the MDGs? A: With 99% of Rwandan children of school going age in school, Rwanda has already met the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in education.     According to MDGs all the children of school-going age shall have access to education by 2015 and our achievement is in line with the country’s Vision2020 of creating a knowledge-based economy. Q: How far has Rwanda achieved the MDGs? A: With 99% of Rwandan children of school going age in school, Rwanda has already met the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in education. According to MDGs all the children of school-going age shall have access to education by 2015 and our achievement is in line with the country’s Vision2020 of creating a knowledge-based economy.   Q: Word on the street is that Rwanda changed from French to English as a medium of instruction in school. Is that true? A: The process of Rwanda taking on English dates back to 1997 when both English and French were declared official media of instruction in public institutions. The policy kicked off in universities like the National University of Rwanda (NUR), Kigali Institute of Education (KIE) and Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). Lecturers were free to lecture in the language in which they had a bias.   Alongside this strategy, we also increased the number of hours of English (lessons) per week in all public institutions. Rwanda is a country that respects the rule of law. The Cabinet cannot enact a policy in Rwanda in disregard of the law. Then, I don’t understand the people who say it is just a decision not a policy.   Q: Does Rwanda’s accession to the East African Community (EAC) and desire to join the Commonwealth have anything to do with the adoption of English? A: Yes. Rwanda applied for membership to the Commonwealth in 1996 and shortly after we joined the EAC. We need to face the reality. Eighty percent of the countries we do business with are English- speaking; the EAC partner states, South Africa, Dubai, Singapore, Japan, China, South Korea, mention them. They all use English in business.   The move was a condition for fast integration. It’s obvious to any level-headed person that English is much more profitable. But French is still a Subject in school. Before, French was 99% used as the medium of instruction but now we want to increase the population’s exposure to English as a means of communication. It became one of our official languages in 1994.   Q: Why did your ministry shift from six years of basic education to nine years of basic education? A: It’s our desire to allow all Rwandan citizens to access education. In 2000, the government decided to pursue the Universal Primary Education (UPE) and by 2003 over 95% of pupils were in school. This is when H.E President Paul Kagame realised that there was urgent need to prepare for the journey to universal secondary education.   He was convinced that everyone should receive free and compulsory education for at least nine years. Thus, adding three years of basic secondary education, a move that went into force early this year. There is empirical evidence that if you stopped going to school after primary level, after 10 years you would have degenerated into an illiterate, as you are bound to lose the counting and reading ability. But after studying for nine years, one will be permanently equipped with the basic skills of counting and reading. the strategy is compatible with the country’s Vision2020 of having a knowledge-based society.   Q: Given the huge rise in enrollment at the Primary sub-sector coupled with a high transitional rate to secondary of about 97%, don’t you feel Rwanda is strained in terms of educational infrastructure? A: As a country which is still poor, we have over crowded classes. Before introducing the double-shift programme in primary sub-sector, the teacher-to-pupil ratio was overwhelming. It was one to 70. It was an innovation to counter the challenge of congested classes. Now, the teacher-pupil ratio has improved to one to 42.   It is a ministry directive that half of learners study in the morning and the others in the afternoon and, they can change every week because effective learning takes place in the morning. We have no worries about crowded classes. We believe that having every child in school is better than having a big proportion of the population without access to education.   Q: What are you doing about the seemingly alarming shortage in classrooms? A: A countrywide campaign aimed at mobilising parents to build more classrooms and schools is ongoing. The response is high. We continue our efforts to create a conducive education system, not only by expanding infrastructure in terms of more classrooms, but also in terms of training more teachers. We need to have an adequate number of trained teachers.   This accounts for initiatives like the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET). We are investing heavily in education because we believe that for Rwanda to entice investors, we need a skilled and trained workforce. This can be achieved through vocational training. Education takes 20% of the national budget. Q: What is the government’s share in terms of investment in the education sector? A: We have three types of schools. Those that are 100% government, where the government meets all the costs – pays for tuition, builds the schools and pays the teachers. The second category are private schools run by government in partnership with the religious institutions. The last are the schools that are exclusively owned and run by the private sector.   With the management of missionary schools, also called subsidised schools, the government pays teachers and gives a capitation grant, which varies from one level to another. At the primary level, the government allots 3,500 Rwandese francs per pupil, while at secondary it allots 7,000 and 20,000 francs to a day scholar and to a student in boarding school, respectively.   The government does not give anything to the purely private school, but it has to ensure that the set educational standards are in place, particularly the learning environment and discipline of the children. I, however, acknowledge that the private sector plays a major role in terms of investment. Currently, the government’s share is just 40%.   Q: How do you compare the number of graduates produced today to before 1994? A: Between 1963 when the National University of Rwanda (NUR) opened and 1993, after 30 years of existence, 1,952 graduates were produced. Currently, it produces 2,000 graduates annually. And, this very university boasts of a student population of 10,000, representing about 15% of all the students in Rwandan universities. This year, there are 55,213 students in Rwandan universities, compared to 3,500 in 1994. This is a breakthrough in the education sector. Access to higher education has increased 13 times over the years.   Q: What about the other stages of education? A: Enrolment at the secondary level swelled eight times from 50,000 students to 410,000 in 15 years, while the number of children in primary, grew nearly three times from 0.9 million children to 2.4 million.   Q: Has President Kagame been supportive? A: Everything we have achieved is what he wanted; the President is convinced that the Rwandan people are the most precious resource the country has. Our people can be compared to gold; if you don’t invest it, gold in itself will not have value.